Keohane Funeral Home

Kathleen Mary McDonald, 74, of Milton died peacefully in her home after living for many years with COPD.

Nature lover, lover of books, especially mysteries, lover of all dogs, Kathy was a retired RN and a proud member of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

The only child of Francis McDonald MD and Catherine Norris McDonald MSN, Kathy was born and raised in Washington, DC. She came north to accept a full scholarship to BC School of Nursing, graduating in 1968, and later earned her MSN in Psychiatric Nursing at Northeastern University.

Kathy worked at Tufts Medical Center for her entire career, in Medicine, Oncology, Management and In-patient Psychiatry, which she liked best and in which she spent most of her career.

Soon after becoming an RN, Kathy joined the MNA. She served as a labor representative for several years and later was on the Workplace Violence Prevention Health and Safety Committee advocating for her fellow nurses. In 2009, she was awarded the Kathryn McGinn-Cutler Advocate for Health and Safety Award from the MNA in recognition of her work.

Though not active growing up, Kathy became athletic in her mid-20s, hiking, biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and canoeing. She became a Nordic Ski Patroller and tried out unsuccessfully for the Olympic Ski Patrol for the Calgary Winter Olympics. She joined Friends of the Blue Hills as part of doing the ski patrol and served as a board member for several years.

Kathy felt that the best thing that happened to her was her marriage to Don McCaffrey. They met while both were working in the hospital and married in 1988. They had a wonderful life together enjoying the outdoors, living in an antique colonial home, growing vegetables and observing local nature. They treasured their times together, whether cross country RVing or sleeping on the porch of their log home in the woods of Piedmont, NH.

She also leaves behind her in-laws, Susan McCaffrey of Cushing, ME and Bill and Meg McCaffrey of Irvine, CA, her godchild, Sharon Henson of Dunkirk, MD, many cousins in Southern Maryland, and Tucker Whitedog, who entertained her to the end.

The family would like to thank Seasons Hospice, especially Kim Kennedy RN, and dear friend Janet Cromer RN for their compassionate and respectful end-of-life care.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to greet the family during the visiting hours on Saturday June 19 from 2-6 PM in the Keohane Funeral Home, 785 Hancock St., QUINCY. Burial will be at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Kathy’s memory may be made to the Friends of the Blue Hills, the Milton Animal League, the Milton Library or the Milton Historical Society.