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FE ROSE ELLEN (CORRIDAN) McGRAIL
May 23, 2019

Obituary

Fe Rose Ellen (Corridan) McGrail, a resident of Charlestown, entered into eternal life on Thursday, May 23, 2019 at the Sancta Maria Nursing Facility in Cambridge. She was 88 years of age.

Fe was born in Chicopee on April 22, 1931, a daughter of the late Michael Corridan and Frances E. (O’Connell) Corridan. She grew up in Chicopee where she attended Chicopee Public Schools and graduated from high school. Fe received a Bachelor's Degree in Art Education from Westfield State College and later took graduate studies in Theology at Boston College.

Until her recent illness, Fe was the picture of the active Boston Senior. After 30 years as a schoolteacher in Massachusetts public schools, she had a renaissance of creativity upon moving to Charlestown. She walked daily over the locks at North Station to Boston; she completed the Walk for Hunger several times in her 80s, most recently in 2015. Her walks frequently took her to St. Francis Chapel in the Prudential Center Mall, where she went to Mass weekdays on the way to or from Dunkin Donuts and the Boston Public Library. She was an accomplished fabric artist, designing her own patterns for Christmas decorations, heirloom bedspreads, tablecloths and Irish sweaters; these she gave to her children and lucky friends. As a young woman she raised nine children while teaching school. She enjoyed writing fiction and she published an essay about her experience as a working mother that anticipated the humor of Erma Bombeck. She was a force of nature, she loved beauty, and had a passion for this life, even as she devoutly developed her faith. She was proud of her children, and will be remembered for her generosity and her belief in charity and justice for the poor. Donations may be made in her name to Project Bread.

Fe is the devoted mother of James A. McGrail and his partner Francine Oddo of Marlboro, NY; Dr. J. Patrick McGrail and his wife Ewa of Atlanta, GA; Michael X. McGrail and his wife Dawn LeTellier of St. Petersburg, FL; Mary F. McGrail of NYC; Dr. Anne B. McGrail and husband Russell H. Shitabata of Eugene, OR; Matthew T. McGrail of Brighton; Daniel A. McGrail and his wife Lisa of Meriden, CT; Marguerite E. McGrail and her husband Stephen Drouin of Leominster; and Eamonn P. McGrail of Los Angeles, CA. She is the loving grandmother of August H.R. McGrail, Aloysius D. T. Shitabata, Michelle Graham and her husband Nick, and great-grandchild Lyla Graham. She is also survived by her brother, Thomas Corridan and sister-in-law Margaret Corridan; sisters-in-law Eleanor Corridan and Ruth Corridan, cousins Shawna Mullen and her husband Jay Dow, and Isabelle James Dow, 13 nieces and nephews, and cousins, and friends including Elaine McCarthy and Ted Stockman. She was predeceased by her brothers James P. Corridan and William G. Corridan, and her sisters Dr. Barbara Corridan Hemond, Frances Gallagher and Jeanmary Smith, and her niece Roberta Graham.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend 's Fe's Funeral on Friday, May 31, 2019 at 9 A.M. from The Carr Funeral Home, 220 Bunker Hill St. Charlestown followed by her Funeral Mass in St. Mary's Church, 55 Warren St. Charlestown at 10 A.M. Her burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Chicopee. Her visiting hours will be on Thursday, May 30, 2019 from 4 to 7 P.M. in the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, kindly make a memorial donation in Fe's name to Project Bread - The Walk for Hunger, 145 Border Street, East Boston, MA 02128.

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Carr Funeral Services
220 Bunker Hill Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
617-242-1509