Mary PETERSEN
Obituary

Mary P. McGill

1925 - 2014 JACKSONVILLE, FL Mary P. McGill passed on Nov. 14, in Jacksonville, Fla. She moved there from Brattleboro in 2009 and, while she enjoyed life in Fla., she always missed Vermont and her friends there. Mary was born July 21, 1925 in Lancaster, Pa. to the late Katharine Zook and Thoralf Petersen. She attended the Thayer Academy in Braintree, Mass. and received a BS from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Mary taught Home Economics at the Amherst Jr-Sr High School before marrying Lansing H. McGill. They were married for 51 years (he predeceased her in 1998) and leave four children (Steven, Lawrence, Susan and Peter), seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Mary made the world a more beautiful place with her arts and crafts, her flower gardens, and her easy smile. She was an excellent seamstress; she supplied her family and friends with quilts, teddy bears, dolls and the like and she ran a small business selling her wares at craft shows in New England. Her art work, primarily watercolors depicting landscapes and nature, adorns the walls of family members and has been displayed at various venues in Brattleboro. Her colorful flower gardens caught the eye of many and her home was rarely without a floral arrangement. Mary was active in her church and community. She was a volunteer at the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital for 15 years. At the First Congregational Church in West Brattleboro, she served on and chaired numerous committees; she continued her support by donating a quilt each year for their annual bazaar. She was a member of the board of the Brattleboro Drop-in-Center, Brattleboro Pastoral Counseling Center and UVM extension. She will be missed by her children, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchild; her sister, Helen, and her husband, Gordon; her brother, Jake, and his wife, Ethel; her sister-in-law, Maurine; her many nieces, nephews and dear friends; and the formerly very well-fed squirrels at Westminster Woods. Her family wishes to thank the staff of Community Hospice and Comfort Keepers for their caring help and assistance in her final days. Donations may be made in her name to Northeast Florida Community Hospice, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville 32257.

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