CATHA JOAN (LEVINSON) MCSWEENEY, of Hingham, died at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth on Monday, August 18th. Mrs. McSweeney was born on October 17, 1924 to Edward Levinson and Paula Marx Levinson in New York City where she spent her formative years. She then graduated from Manumit School in Pawling, New York where she was a boarding student and then Goddard College in Vermont.
It was at Goddard that she met and married Brian McSweeney of Hingham, who was to be her husband for 62 years. While Brian served in the Navy during World War II, Mrs. McSweeney was employed as a welder in the Hingham Shipyard. Thier marriage produced 5 children; Patricia, of Charlestown; Edward and Margaret McSweeney-Martin both of Halifax; Thomas and Terence of Hanson, and 13 grandchildren.
Mrs. McSweeney, a retired journalist, started her newspaper career as a copy girl in New York City, but soon after became a reporter for the now defunct Record-American in Boston to be followed by almost 30 years of reporting at the Patriot Ledger. She had a wide range of reporting interests from gardening to Viet Nam war protesting and other human interest stories. Her unique communication skills afforded her the ability to forge a close and revealing connection to those she interviewed, often producing a story containing a human touch many reporters were unable to match.
She was an active member of the South Shore Peace Forum and, since 2003, had been a witness for peace every Tuesday morning in front of the Hingham Post Office.
When her children were young, she served on the Board of Directors of the Wilder Memorial Nursery School, which was founded by her mother-in-law and attended by her husband and children and some of her grandchildren.
During her 60 years in Hingham, she was also active in the Hingham League of Women Voters, the Hingham Cemetery Committee, the Selection Committee of South Shore Habitat for Humanity and the library volunteers. In addition, she was a member of the Garden Club of Hingham and she and her husband participated or many years in the Hingham Militia Company.
Most of all, she also loved being surrounded by her family, particularly during the holidays when she and her younger grandchildren produced skits and songs for the family Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings.
Visiting hours will be held at her home at 150 Union Street, Hingham on Thursday, August 21st from 4-8 PM. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to The Peace Abbey, Two North Main Street, Sherborn, MA 01770.