Kathryn Tenney Shaughnessy

Kathryn “Kay” Tenney Shaughnessy, 86, of Hingham, MA died peacefully after a brief illness at Linden Ponds.

Born on July 22, 1937 to Charles and Agnes Tenney (Redington) in Dorchester MA, Kay attended Mount St Joseph Academy in Brighton, MA where she graduated with honors and earned a scholarship to Regis College.

She met her husband of 47 years John Hugh Shaughnessy at a pizza parlor in Marshfield, MA.  He asked her to dance and the demure Kay said yes, forever changing the course of her life.  They married on August 30, 1958 and were happily married until his death in 2005.  They moved from their first home in Dorchester, to Darien, CT then Wellesley, MA, Westport, CT and finally to Barnstable, MA as Cape Cod had always held a special place in their hearts.

Kay is survived by her six children: Kathryn (Dennis) Lawson of Glen Ellyn, IL; Charles (Xiaofeng); of Alton, NH; Mark (Vesta) of Alexandria, VA,  John (Sarah) of Hingham, MA; Edward of Lake Forest, IL and Mary Shaughnessy of Los Angeles, CA, her sisters Carolyn Matheson of Yarmouth, MA, Dorothy Tenney of Hyannis, MA, her brother Charles (Susan) Tenney of Mashpee, MA, her grandchildren: Tyron (Hannah) Shaughnessy of Milton, FL, Duncan (Cailin) Lawson of Chicago, IL, Bridget (Russell Rosenkranz) Lawson of Glen Ellyn, IL, Ian (Maggie) Lawson of Winfield, IL, Benjamin Shaughnessy of Chicago, IL, CPL/E4 USA Jack Patrick Shaughnessy, Logan Shaughnessy of Colorado Springs, CO, Ensign USN Grace Bowman Shaughnessy of Pensacola, FL, Midshipman 2nd Class USN Kathryn Tenney Shaughnessy of Annapolis, MD, Lilu Shaughnessy of Malaga, Spain, John “Huck” Shaughnessy II of Hingham, MA, Lucy Shaughnessy of Hingham, MA, Anabel Shaughnessy of Alexandria, VA and Francis Shaughnessy of Alexandria, VA, and her great-grandchildren: Finnegan Lawson, Ronan Lawson, Fiona Lawson, and Ciaran Lawson.

She was predeceased by her parents Charles and Agnes Tenney and her sisters Ann Marie “Nancy” Dobens, Ellen “Ellie” (Robert) Tims, brother-in-law Leonard Dobens and sister-in-law Joan Peet.

Kay enjoyed her garden, volunteering at her church, people watching with a good cup of coffee, reading any book, but especially those set against a bleak British backdrop, fried clams and being near the beach (but not TOO close to the water).  She loved spending time with her children and grandchildren who were the light of her life.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Linden Ponds Scholarship fund for the young people who work so hard at Linden Ponds.  Checks should be made payable to Linden Ponds, with “Scholarship Fund” noted in the memo and mailed to:

Linden Ponds

Philanthropy Office

203 Linden Ponds Way

Hingham, MA 02043

Or use the link below to use a credit card:

https://secure2.convio.net/elm/site/Donation2?df_id=1644&mfc_pref=T&1644.donation=form1