Mary L. O’Connor

Mary L. O’Connor, Ph.D., died peacefully on July 1, 2016 at Linden Ponds, Hingham, Massachusetts.

The only child of Henry and Agnes (Mullins) O’Connor, she was born in Worcester on March 4, 1922. She earned a B.A. from Framingham State College, an M.Ed. from Columbia University Teachers College, and a Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut at Storrs. She spent her academic career at Framingham State College in the Departments of Home Economics and Education. Her research area was establishing how housing and income patterns in urban setting affected food availability and health, with a particular emphasis on seniors and the urban poor. 

A communicant at St. Bridget R.C. Church in Framingham for five decades, she was active in the church food pantry where she worked to ensure beneficial nutritional content in meals and food bags. In 2004 she retired to Linden Ponds and joined the Church of the Resurrection in Hingham. 

She is survived by her cousins and their children, several of whom are her Godchildren, as well as several generations of nutritionists, social workers, and teachers who trained at Framingham State College.

A Mass of Christian Burial takes place at the Church of the Resurrection, 1057 Main St., Hingham at 11:00 AM, Thursday, July 7. Burial to follow at the O’Connor family plot in Saint John’s Cemetery, Worcester. In lieu of flowers please make donations to the charity of one’s choice.