Mary Doherty Manseau of Tewksbury passed away peacefully at home on November 17, 2024, surrounded by her loving family.
Born in Boston in 1941, Mary was raised in Dorchester, the second oldest of the seven children of Margaret and Michael Doherty, both immigrants from Ireland. As a young girl, Mary loved fire trucks and Irish step-dancing. She was known to rush to the scene of any excitement in the neighborhood, which proved to be a lifelong pursuit.
After graduating from Monsignor Ryan High School, where she played on the varsity basketball team, Mary joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston. She served the Catholic Church for ten years as a teaching sister in parish schools including St. Stephen’s in Framingham, St. Joseph’s in Medford, and St. Clement’s in Somerville. At each posting, she was often observed laughing, telling jokes, and step-dancing in her full habit; as a former student later said, “You have to remember this was 1966 – nuns didn’t usually act like this!”
While stationed at her final parish assignment, St. Francis de Sales in Roxbury, Mary met a young priest, William Manseau, who was immediately drawn to the vivacious young sister interested in civil rights and pursuing new freedoms for women in religious life. Though Mary left the convent and William stepped away from diocesan ministry, their wedding made headlines around the world as a sign of the times for the Church. More importantly, they began a marriage that would last more than five decades. Throughout their life together, Mary and William remained active in the movement for a married priesthood and other reforms.
After short stays in Dunstable, Chicago, and Beltsville, Md., Mary settled with William in Tewksbury, Mass., where she spent the rest of her life. She raised three children and made many friends through church groups, community activities, and her career teaching in the town’s public schools, focused on special education services. A lifelong volunteer, Mary sought to help those in greatest need with respect and compassion. Her bright smile and confiding warmth shone on loved ones, casual acquaintances, and complete strangers alike.
Diagnosed with aortic stenosis in 1984, Mary once feared she wouldn’t see her children grow up. Following open heart surgery, she lived her next forty years with even more vitality, becoming increasingly involved in town politics, union organizing, and the Democratic Party; and trying out new pastimes like sailing and rollerblading. In the 1990s, she drew upon her deep well of courage to seek justice as an advocate for victims during the abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Later in life, she enjoyed water aerobics, Senior Center trips to casinos, and pulling mischievous pranks on neighbors and family.
True to her social spirit, Mary’s final weeks were spent visiting with family, old friends including her “convent buddies” and teaching colleagues, newer friends from the Boys & Girls Club pool, and an ever-expanding network of people she had met during her regular “office hours” at Dunkin’ or the countless adventures she launched whenever she went off “gallivanting.”
Mary is survived by her husband of 55 years, Dr. William J. Manseau; their children Sean, Kathleen, and Peter; son-in-law James Salter; daughter-in-law Gwen Seznec Manseau; grandchildren Annick, Jeannette, and Isaac; and her extended Doherty and Manseau families, including Joseph Doherty, Paul and Denise Doherty, Rita Doherty Marnell, Rose Doherty, Dianne Doherty and Liam Duane, Barbara and Reginald Hamer, Robert and Debra Manseau, Leo and Shirley Manseau, David Manseau, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Her family and friends are so grateful to have known her. She will be painfully missed but joyfully remembered.
Visiting hours: Sunday November 24, 2024 from 4-8 P.M. at Farmer and Dee Funeral Home, 16 Lee St., Tewksbury, Mass. Funeral: 11:30 A.M. Monday November 25, 2024 at St. William’s Catholic Church, 1351 Main St., Tewksbury, Mass.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s memory to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston: https://www.csjboston.org/ways-to-give/make-a-gift.