Mary Kay Mahony

Mary Kay (Kate) Mahony (Jensen), of Hingham, passed away on Friday, December 31, 2021, minutes before the New Year.  She was 92.

She was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on October 29, 1929, “the day the Stock Market crashed”.  She was the only child of Mary Kathryn Wise and Otto K. Jensen.  Kate attended the Tudor Hall School for Girls from K through grade 12.  She then moved east to attend Radcliffe College where she studied English but more importantly, met her husband Francis R. Mahony, Jr. who was attending Harvard University.  After graduating, Kate was selected to be part of Filene’s training program.  Kate and Frank married and settled in Hingham in 1955.  They were together 63 years until his passing in 2017.

Kate loved the town of Hingham and served the town through her work on the Advisory Board, Hingham Public Library Trustees, the Hingham VNA and more.  Most notably, Kate was the first woman elected as selectman in Hingham history, serving on the Select Board for 9 years, many of them serving as chairwoman.  Kate was honored as Hingham’s Citizen of the Year for all of her contributions.

Although Kate spent many years raising her 3 children, at around the age of 50, she went back to school to get her Private Accountant license.  She and some of her Hingham friends created a private accounting group called Cay, Smith, Mahony and Merrill.  It seemed that Kate was always on the go and loved spending time with her friends, whether that be at the Riverview Investment Club, a book club or Bridge group.  She was a longtime member of the Hingham Yacht Club, South Shore Country Club, Cohasset Golf Club(member of the Niners) and a parishioner of St. Paul’s Church.  Kate was an avid reader, loved the NYT Sunday crossword, New England sports and traveling around the world, especially an annual trip to Bermuda with family or friends.

She is survived by her children; Francis R. “Sam” Mahony III and his wife Bryan of June Lake, CA, Andrew J. Mahony and his with Mary of Norwell and Kathryn J. Mahony of Amherst.  She is also survived by two grandchildren, Julia and Gabi.

Kate’s services will be private.  Please see www.Keohane.com for online condolences.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hingham Public Library Book Fund.