WAKEFIELD — Mary Ethel Downey, 79, of Wakefield died peacefully on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2014 at her home.
She was the only child of the late Thomas F. and Ethel Marguerite (Hickey) Downey. Mary was born on Jan. 5, 1935 and was the first child born in Wakefield that year.
She attended Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro before graduating from Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Newton. She received her bachelor of science degree from Tufts University along with a general certificate from Bourne-Boston School. She later received her master’s degree from Salem State College. After teaching junior and senior high school in Woburn, Mary moved to Wakefield’s Physical Education Department where she taught until her retirement in 1993. She also taught at the YMCA and was part of the Adult Education Program along with being the treasurer of the Old Colony Dog Club in Peabody. Mary thoroughly enjoyed gardening and traveling.
Services were private. Arrangements in the care of the McDonald Funeral Home.
