Mary Elizabeth De Winter (Mahoney) of Needham. Daughter of the late Mary (Reen) and Thomas Mahoney of Manchester, NH was called home to Our Lord on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Mary Elizabeth is survived by her beloved husband, Paul, with whom she shared 63 years of marriage, joy, laughter and travel. In addition to her husband, Mary is survived by her four adoring children including Mary Ellen De Winter of Needham, Thomas (and Namrita) De Winter of Boston, Elise (and Jeff) Eckelkamp of Natick and Michael (and Monica) De Winter of Dedham. She is “Grammie” to seven grandchildren, Stephen, Claire and Timothy Eckelkamp and Kathleen, Amy, Priya Elizabeth and Divya Marie De Winter. Mary’s biggest joy was being with her family, particularly when it involved swimming in the ocean or staying up late nights to chat around the kitchen table.
Mary Elizabeth was an alumna of Clark University where she was a member of the Pleiades Senior Honor Society. Mary taught in the Newton, MA school system while also pursuing graduate studies at Boston University. Mary and Paul met in college and were married in 1962. They made their first home in Boston before moving to Costa Rica and later to Venezuela with their first two children, Mary Ellen and Thomas. Upon their return to the United States, they settled in Needham, MA and welcomed two more children, Elise and Michael.
Her strong Catholic faith, commitment to family, and her ardent belief in the value of all human life from conception to natural death motivated her to promote education on all LIFE issues. She not only shared her passions with her family, but she also served as a role model for many other young people when she taught high school religious education. For over thirty years, her American University Women for Life group has been supporting, affirming and providing educational forums on the value of LIFE.
Mary Elizabeth was an active member of Saint Bartholomew Parish of Needham where she served as a Eucharistic Minister. She was also engaged in the community as a Girl Scout Leader and a board member of the Broad Meadow Parent Teacher Association. A lover of the beach and ocean, Mary Elizabeth encouraged her children to become proficient swimmers and later introduced her family to sailing. For over thirty years, she and her husband sailed the east coast waters from Maine to Long Island and were members of the New Bedford Yacht Club and Needham Pool and Racquet Club.
Upon retirement, she and her husband spent winters in Naples, Florida enjoying the beach, tennis and golf. They considered themselves blessed to be able to travel and visit several continents, and they especially cherished the memories they shared with their family on a special “Celebration of Life” trip to Italy.
Always with a smile, she kept her mantra of “people come first” and she would stop anything to enjoy or care for her family and friends. She was loved by all who were lucky to know her, and her smile and infectious warm personality spread well beyond her immediate circle of friends.
The family will receive friends at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 1305 Highland Ave. Needham on Sunday, July 13, 2025 from 4:00pm – 7:00pm. A Mass of Christian burial will be at Saint Bartholomew Church in Needham on Monday, July 14, 2025 at 10:00am. Interment will follow at Saint Mary’s Cemetery in Needham. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to a pro-life mission organization or the American Heart Association.