Mary Katharine Gilbert, “Mary K.” 86 of Kingston, formerly of Duxbury, died on November 5, 2014 in Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston. Born in Boston in 1928, she was the daughter of the late Walter R. and Jessie A. Arnold.
She leaves her children: Nicholas H. Gilbert and his wife, Julie of Wellesley. Alison “Lisa” Bailey and her partner Joan Lusa of Coventry, CT. Stephen W. Gilbert and his wife Christine of Duxbury, and her brother John Arnold and his wife Sidney of Duxbury.
She was predeceased by her husband Percival Gilbert, Jr.
Mary K was loved and adored by her grandchildren: Sarah, Melissa, Emily, Seth and Olivia, and by her seven great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
She graduated from Beaver County Day School inBrookline and was the Director of Volunteer Services at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, later serving as Director of Volunteer Services for twenty years at The Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge. Much esteemed in her field, she was the past president of The Massachusetts Association of Directors of Volunteer Services and was a mentor to hospital Directors of Volunteer Services throughout the United States.
Following her retirement, Mary K. worked as an activity assistant at Bay Path Nursing and Retirement Center in Duxbury and also volunteered her time and talent to numerous charitable organizations.
She was life-long member of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Duxbury and served on its vestry, altar guild, and as a lay reader and eucharistic minister. She was also a member of the Saint John’s Guild.
A memorial service will be held in Saint John the Evangelist Church, 410 Washington Street, Duxbury on November 15 at 1 p.m. Reception to follow at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School 450 Washington Street, Duxbury.Burial will be private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to The Duxbury Thrift Shop 48 Depot Street Duxbury, MA 02332or The Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02205.