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Richard Dennis Mahaney Veteran
April 06, 2018

Obituary

Richard D. Mahaney passed away on April 6, at the MaryAnn Morse Health Care Center in Natick. A long time Natick resident, he lived in Falmouth for 20 years before moving to Carmel Terrace in Framingham in 2015.
Born in Natick in 1933, he was the second of eight children of (Lt. Col. US Army) Charles E. and Marion L. (Fay) Mahaney. Dick attended St. Patrick’s Grammar School, Fort Knox High School, KY and Natick High School.

In 1952, he left school and joined the U.S. Coast Guard. He served on board the USCG Cutter Unimak, assisted in the rescue of men from The Fort Mercer and Pendleton off Chatham as told in the book The Finest Hours. He was also involved in rescue operation for a lost hiker in Argentia, Newfoundland. Upon completing his service in 1954, he returned to Natick where he worked at the Quartermaster Research and Development Command in Natick, before moving on to the John G. Shelley Shipping Company in Wellesley Hills. He returned to his love for the sea and worked as a seaman on a research vessel at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. Dick earned his GED in 1967 and joined the Natick Police Force in 1969. He served honorably, taking early retirement to care for his ailing mother. Dick was a member of the American Legion and the Massachusetts Patrolmen’s Association.
As a teenager in Fort Knox, Dick had an interest in photography, both taking and developing his own pictures. This interest would last throughout most of his life. He also enjoyed skydiving and scuba diving. For several years he dove with a group of men who enjoyed diving and salvaging in and around Boston Harbor. These men all had full time jobs but on the weekends, they would board the Kay G to enjoy their sport. In his younger years he also enjoyed traveling. He attended the Winter Carnival in Quebec as well as vacationing on the island of Eleuthra and other places in between.
Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brother Charles “Bob” and his wife Jacqueline (O’Donnell), his brother John M., and sister Dorothy M. Mahaney. He is survived by his sister Patricia “Pat” of South Carolina, his sister and brother-in-law, Marian “Mandy” and Raymond Fisher of Pennsylvania, his sister-in-law Judith A. (Cutter) of Duxbury, his brother Dennis J. of New Mexico, and his sister Ann K. Mahaney of Holliston.

A Funeral Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday April 17, 2018 in the Chapel of John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park Street, at Natick Common, Natick. Interment will follow at St. Patrick Cemetery. Visiting hours will be held prior to service from 10:00-10:45 A.M. at the funeral home.

The Family wants to especially acknowledge the nurses and staff in the Alder Unit at the Morse Health Care Center who cared for Dick in the final month of his life.
Dick loved the “little kiddies” especially the nieces and nephews who came along. If you would like to make a donation in his memory, think about choosing one that works for children such as the Jimmy Fund.

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John Everett & Sons Funeral Home
4 Park Street
Natick, MA 01760
508-653-4342