Dawn McNamara crossed over to heaven on September 12th, 2023 at her home in West Roxbury, MA. She was 58 years old.
She moved to the area in 2008 and quickly found her calling as a home health aide to the elderly. She absolutely loved hearing their stories, listening to their favorite music, learning new card games, and caring for them in any way she could.
Dawn spent most of her youth in Geneva, New York where she was in the school’s color guard and volunteered as a candy striper. After graduation, she moved to Wilbraham, MA, and then to Springfield, MA before her final home in Boston. The night before her death, she was packing for her move back to Springfield which was scheduled for just three days later.
She didn’t have grandiose dreams or plans for anything too far into the future. She truly lived in the moment, treasuring the small blessings in life such as a phone call from a friend, her mother’s pot roast recipe, a new hair style, winning at Yahtzee, a great find at Savers, and on occasion, a strawberry milkshake. If she had one big wish for herself, it was to swim with the dolphins which she did years earlier.
Her hopes and dreams were for her children Tom and Mary. She prayed for their happiness, and success wherever life led them. Profoundly proud of them both, Dawn never missed an opportunity to share an update, photo, or memory of them with anyone. She was over the moon to be just two minutes away from Tom in her new Springfield home. God had other plans.
Dawn had her share of challenges, but she bore her crosses with tremendous grace – especially in her final year. She was also sober for more than a decade, taking great pride in knowing she beat this generational curse. Her super power was unconditional love, always choosing to see the good in someone.
She is survived by her son Tom McNamara, his wife Maryn and their children Avery and John; her daughter Mary Flores and Mary’s father Mike who was Dawn’s partner of 20 years; twin sister Diane McNamara; brother Dan McNamara and his wife Christy Hamilton; uncle John Helme and his wife Renee; cousins Helen Hagerty, Ingrid Van Slyke, and Heather Harrison Moran; and the friends she cherished throughout her life. She was predeceased by her mother Anne, father Thomas, grandparents Omar and Alice Helme, and Thomas and Peggy McNamara whom she adored and called LaLa. That was the name her precious granddaughter Avery called Dawn too.
Dawn wasn’t afraid of death, confident that her mother and LaLa would greet her at the gates of heaven. If you would like to honor Dawn’s life, please consider a donation to The Dolphin Project, or simply do something kind for an elderly person and think of her.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Cecilia Church in Wilbraham, MA on Saturday, October 21st at 10 am. She will be buried with her father, mother, grandparents, great grandparents and great aunts in Syracuse, NY next spring.