Raymond J. Mahoney

Raymond James Mahoney, whose life was forever changed when he signed on to the US Public Health Service to work in Sitka, Alaska, died Sept.1, 2020, aged 84 at home in Braintree. It was in Sitka, a place where he could also explore his twin loves of photography and nature that he met his future wife and the love of his life, a nurse named Christene Gannaway who was also working with the Native Eskimo population. He spent his entire career in Radiology, retiring from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 2010 after 26 years, finishing his career working in the Radiology Billing Department. He grew up in Lynn, one of six siblings, the son of proud Irish-American working class parents, Frederick and Mary Mahoney. As a teenager he had jobs as varied as delivering ice blocks for refrigerators (then called iceboxes) and working in a local bakery. It was the bakery job, with it’s extreme heat and very physical labor, that convinced him to look for another type of career, he once said. As a very religious young man, during high school he took a year to study at the MaryKnoll Seminary, in Pennsylvania, eventually returning to Lynn and graduating in 1954 from St. Mary’s Boys School. He completed a course of study in X-Ray Technology at Carnegie Institute in 1956. A US Veteran, he completed Hospital Corpsman Training in the US Naval Reserves, with duty on board a ship docked just outside of Boston for a time. He was Honorably Discharged in 1966. With the exception of his time in Alaska, he spent the bulk of his Radiology career in the Boston metro area; starting as a Radiology Technologist at Lynn Hospital in 1956, continuing that work in Sitka, then South Shore Hospital, and Harvard University Health Services. He became a Radiology Administrator at Quincy City Hospital and went on to serve in that position for fifteen years at Faulkner Hospital, where he worked for breast cancer imaging pioneer Dr. Norman Sadowsky; he later held the same position at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Worcester, with stints in between as a Sales Engineer for Westinghouse X-Ray division and as Sales Representative for  Radiology Services Inc. and TRW Medical Electronics. Although he was deeply dedicated to his career and recognized in his industry, he was known to his friends and family for his love of life and his many outside pursuits. He had a large, lush garden than he cultivated year after year, using organic practices before most people knew what that was. He shared the bounty of his garden, especially tomatoes and scallions with his neighbors, children, and friends. As noted, he was passionate about photography and nature and expressed this love through his beautiful photos of flowers from his garden, scenery from hikes and walks throughout New England, and from his time visiting in Ireland. When a stroke in 2010 made it difficult for him to use a traditional SLR camera he became an expert in iPhone photography, asking his daughter Kathy to make sure the phone they bought had the highest number of pixels. He also spent numerous hours editing his photographs and making books. He was an enthusiastic fisherman, whether salt or fresh water. He was an avid and fiercely competitive chess, cribbage and board game player. He belonged to the Camera Club of Quincy for many years and enjoyed dancing and classical music and for many years was a season subscriber to the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He also enjoyed listening to jazz, and did choral singing and Gregorian Chant. He is survived by his sisters, Mary Purucker, of Vista, California, and Patricia Mahoney of York, Maine, his sister-in-law, Elise Mahoney of Lynn, and his daughters, Keren Mahoney Jones and her husband, Rick, of Mansfield, along with their children Eve, Harry, Jill; and Kathy LaRosee and her husband, Howie, of Braintree, along with their children, Elizabeth, Michelle, Derek, Ryan, and Kelly; and their five grandchildren,Tyler, Aiden, Dylan, Donald, and JJ. He also leaves his much loved nieces and nephews and his camera club friends, as well as many other friends and colleagues. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Christene, and devoted son, Kevin, as well as his brothers, John and Walter, and his sister, Carol. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the visiting hours on Friday 9-11 AM in the McDonald Keohane Funeral Home SOUTH WEYMOUTH at 809 Main Street (Rte 18 opp. So. Shore Hospital). Following the visitation, a funeral mass will be held in St. Clare’s Church, Braintree at 11:30 AM. For anyone who cannot gather together with Raymond’s family at this time, friends may still offer their support by clicking the link above and sharing a special memory or message. In lieu of flowers please make donations to South Shore Health Foundation, 55 Fogg Road, South Weymouth, MA  02190-2455, or online at Southshorehealth.org/Evergreen, please choose or reference Hospice of the South Shore when making the donation.