MARY DORIS MACDONALD

Funeral service for the late Mary Doris MacDonald, 93, RK MacDonald Nursing Home, Antigonish, formerly of Dolorosa Avenue and St. Andrews, was held November 29 in St. Ninian Cathedral with Father Donald MacGillivray officiating. Burial was in the parish cemetery.     

Mrs. MacDonald died November 23, 2019, in St Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish.     

Readers at the funeral Mass were Roselle Lawlor, Bridget MacDonald and Maureen MacDonald. Kaitlin Darsigny, Siobhan MacDonald and Amanda Steeves presented the offertory gifts. Music was provided by choir director Emery Van de Wiel and St. Ninian’s Funeral Choir.     

Pallbearers were Ken Farrell, Aaron MacDonald, Jonathan MacDonald, Kinsey MacDonald, Paul MacDonald and John Morrison.     

Born November 25, 1925, in Watertown, Massachusetts, she was the eighth of 10 children born to the late Emilio and Pellegrina (Parella) Migliaccio. Her parents emigrated from the province of Avellino, Italy, to the United States in 1920. Upon completing her secondary education in the Watertown school system, she worked in the office of a local textile factory. She later accompanied a co-worker on a vacation trip to Nova Scotia, where she met Hugh Joseph ‘Joe’ MacDonald of Salmon River Lake, Guysborough County. They were married at St. Patrick’s Church, Watertown, on August 16, 1952. They resided at Bass River, Shubenacadie and Stellarton before moving to Antigonish in 1963, and later relocated to St. Andrews. While she briefly worked in the Family Services of Eastern Nova Scotia’s Antigonish office, she devoted the majority of her time to raising her children and looking after her family’s needs. She particularly enjoyed handcrafts and created an impressive collection of needlework portraits over the years. In later life, crocheting was a favourite pastime. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family.     

She is survived by three children, Bruce (Ann), Antigonish; Scott (Chris), London, Ontario; Angela (Tim Forbes) Steeves, Parrsboro; 15 grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren.     

She was predeceased by her husband Joe; three brothers, Emilio, Felix, Anthony ‘Tony’; six sisters, Angelina ‘Angie’ Morizio, Antoinette Simeone, Anna Boschetto, Eleanor Ferraro, Rita  Ferraro, Eva Aubert.       

Memorial donations may be made to the RK MacDonald Nursing Home Foundation or a charity of choice.                

Online condolences: www.MacIsaacs.ca