SPENCER: Ann T. (O'Neil) MacDonald, 89, of Spencer, passed away peacefully at her home. Ann was born in Millbury on September 27, 1931, the daughter of Arthur T. and Irene (Murphy) O'Neil. She graduated from Millbury High School, where she played defense on the undefeated 1949 girls field hockey team.
Ann attended the Newton-Wellesley School of Nursing, graduating
as a registered nurse. Working at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, she met and cared for her future husband, V. Arnold (Arnie) MacDonald, who had broken a leg in a workplace accident. They married on Kentucky Derby Day in 1953.
After wrangling six active children, Ann resumed her nursing career in 1974, working for both the Silver Lake Regional School District and the Pembroke, Massachusetts Visiting Nurse Association before moving to Ohio in 1988.
After Arnie MacDonald died in 1993, Ann moved to Spencer where they have had a summer home on Stiles Lake since 1961. Over the next 10 years, Ann traveled to Australia, New Zealand, China, East Africa, and Mexico. At age 70, she rode a
mule to the base of the Grand Canyon and back again.
Ann was an active member of the First Church of Pembroke for 24 years and later a member of the First Congregational Church of Spencer.
Ann leaves four sons and two daughters: Alan K. MacDonald and his wife Joyce of Louisville, KY, Andrew J. MacDonald and his wife Allison of Berryville, VA, Avery N. MacDonald of Hopkinton, and Aric L. MacDonald and his wife Julie of Waltham, Amy L. Fanion and her husband Donald of Enfield, CT and Audrey J. Strongosky and her husband Jay of Jacksonville, FL, plus 14 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
A funeral service with Covid 19 guidelines will be held on Wednesday, April 7 at 11 a.m. in the J. HENRI MORIN & SON FUNERAL HOME, 23 Maple Terrace, Spencer. A calling hour will precede the services on Wednesday from 10 to 11 a.m. Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Worcester. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Alzheimer's Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Rd., Waltham, MA 02452.