Muriel C. Drapeau, 90, Marshfield Resident
MARSHFIELD, MA – Muriel C. Drapeau, who lived here with her daughter for more than three years, died peacefully with family at her side at her home on Sunday, March 16. She was 90.
Prior to moving to Marshfield in 2005, Muriel lived in Pelham, NY in Westchester County for 50 years. She was an active and dedicated member of a wide variety of community, church and school volunteer clubs and committees. Among her favorite organizations were the Manor Club and the International Garden Club, both of Pelham Manor, NY. She was also active in town politics, and assisted many fundraising programs at the schools her children attended.
Muriel Patricia was born in Brooklyn, NY, March 1918, the first of Harry and Mary Cohan’s two children. As a child and teenager, she summered in Meredith, NH, where she excelled in horseback riding, polo and archery. She attended St. Angela Hall and St. Rose of Lima School in Brooklyn, and she was graduated with honors from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, where she was editor of the college newspaper, The Cormont. While still in college she authored several articles published in the The New York Times.
After graduation from college in 1939 she worked with Thomas E. Hurley, Inc., a New York City advertising company for several years in the early 1940s. In 1948, Muriel married to George Drapeau, Jr., formerly of Brunswick, ME. Her husband, a retired commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, was an advertising executive with the New York Daily News, whose career spanned 47 years with the newspaper. Her husband predeceased her in 1999 at age 91.
Her interests extended from literature and music to antiques and sports; she was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and found great enjoyment in the team’s legacy and lore long after it left Ebbets Field. She and her husband were frequent patrons of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall.
“Muriel’s love of writing and the arts were passions she imparted to us,” said her daughter, Connie Drapeau Kennedy, of Marshfield. “We often only measure people by their accomplishments in life, overlooking how a person perceives and lives life. Mom was keenly observant, loving, insightful, and had an extraordinary sense of humor. She was very attentive to the people around her. She used her talents to relate wonderful stories and experiences that taught lasting values.”
In addition to her daughter Constance and son-in-law Alan E. Kennedy of Marshfield, Muriel is survived by her daughter Suzanne D. Hobbs and son-in-law Michael E. Hobbs of Lilburn, GA; and her son George and daughter-in-law Sheila Smith Drapeau of Armonk, NY. Her grandson, M. Jordan Hobbs, 28, resides in Charlotte, NC. Her dear brother, Harry A. Cohan, Jr. predeceased her.
Funeral from the MacDonald Funeral Home 1755 Ocean St (Rte 139) Marshfield Friday March 28, at 9:00 am followed by A Mass of Christian Burial in St Christine's Church 1295 Main St (Rte 3A) Marshfield at 10 am.
Visiting hours Thursday March 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 pm.
Interment will be in the Couch Cemetery, Union St, Marshfield.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in memory of Muriel be made to:
Sowing Seeds, an ecumenical outreach ministry, P.O. Box 1001, Marshfield, MA 02050.
Or,
St. Christine’s Church 1295 Main Street, Marshfield, MA 02050.
An online Photo tribute is also available at www.thewelcomegallery.com.