Mabel L. Phinney, 95
Dateline: Norton, MA
Mabel L. Phinney, age 95, of Norton passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 17, 2013 at the Epoch Senior Healthcare of Norton where she had lived for several years.
Born in Quincy, MA on May 7, 1917, she was the daughter of the late Roland and Alijuline (Keene) Phinney In the 1940s her family came to Norton as summer residents. She became a full-time Norton lady in the 1960s.
Among the many memories and stories she shared about growing up and living in southeastern Massachusetts were the days when “my grandfather used to take me in his catboat from New Bedford and Fall River to Oak Bluffs (Martha’s Vineyard) and Nantucket, then back to Falmouth. He was a catboat builder.”
She received her teaching certificate in Nursery, Kindergarten and Elementary Teaching from Lesley College in 1938. Her career was filled with children. She began as Director of Family Day Care at her home on Campbell Street, Quincy, and retired as a teacher at the former Country School on Clapp St. in Norton,
She also provided home-based childcare for many years. Additionally she served Norton by working on the Children’s Census for the Norton School Department. No matter where her Vermont family went in Norton, they met people who had known Mabel as their early teacher or a teacher of their children and grandchildren.
She was a member of the Trinitarian Congregational Church. The Church fairs provided her with a group who shared her love of knitting, crocheting and other handicrafts. For many years, she taught Sunday school and was an active member of the Ladies’ Group of the Church, the Whatsoever Club.
Mabel possessed many talents and interests. In addition to handcrafts, she tended her house, built by her father, like a garden. She loved to travel with her Church friends. She cared deeply about animals and supported many groups involved in animal protection and the conservation of lands that support wildlife.
She adored dogs - all dogs - but particularly Siberian and Samoyed huskies. She owned and loved many of them during her life. In her middle years she attended sled dog races, and in her later years, she provided a home for injured dogs in addition to her own huskies.
Mabel’s family thanks her devoted and caring neighbors who made it possible for her to enjoy her home as long as possible. More recently the staff at Epoch Healthcare of Norton provided her with comfortable, sensitive and loving final years. Many of her caregivers were former students.
Private burial will be in the South Monument Cemetery, Monument Beach. She requested that memorial contributions be made in her name to the Trinitarian Congregational Church, P.O. Box 2068, Norton, MA 02766 or to the Society for Animal Protective Legislation, PO Box 3650 Washington, DC 20027.
Arrangements are under the care and direction of the Norton Memorial Funeral Home, 19 Clapp St., Norton.
To send a message of condolence, please visit www.nortonmemorial.com