Obituary of Winifred C. McDonough

Winifred Ward Cotter McDonough was born on November 3, 1944 to Eileen and Jim Cotter in Massachusetts. She was one of 8 children. After graduating from St Elizabeth's with a degree in Nutrition, she moved back to Boston where she worked at Massachusetts General. In 1967, on the recommendation of her sister, she was set up on a blind date with Chris McDonough of South Orange, NJ. They started dating long distance and on Christmas Eve 1967 Chris proposed. They were married on June 8, 1968 and moved to Bronxville, NY. Winnie gave birth to their first child, a son, on June 4, 1969: John Joseph McDonough. They bought a house in Maplewood NJ and on March 3, 1971 Winnie gave birth to their second child Kathleen Marie McDonough. Three years later on May 15, 1974 they welcomed their third child: Mary Elizabeth McDonough. Winnie and Chris maintained their residence in Maplewood, NJ their entire marriage. They were both very active in their community with Boys Scouts, Girl Scouts, The Catholic Church, their kids' sports and extracurricular activities and their neighborhood. They both had full time jobs and during part of their marriage, it was Winnie who was the bread winner of the family. Winnie had a few different jobs; she worked in administration at her local parish rectory, she was a loan processor and supervisor at a Mortgage Company and her last job was an administrative assistant to the principal at a school for children with learning disabilities. In 1986 Winnie and Chris had a little surprise and gave birth to their 4th child Christine Winifred McDonough. Winnie made sure to put education first for her children and was very proud of the fact that she and Chris were able to send their children to a parochial school for both grammar and junior high. All four children went to private high schools: John went to Delbarton in Morristown, NJ - Kathleen went to Oak Knoll in Summit, NJ and Mary Elizabeth aka 'Molly' and Christine went to Villa Walsh Academy in Morristown, NJ The kids then went on to private colleges: John started at the US Naval Academy and finished at Drew University. Kathleen attended Hamilton College. Molly went to Salve Regina and Christine attended Northeastern University Winnie was blessed with two grandchildren from her son John: Marshall Tobin McDonough, who is 12 years old and Maeve Ann McDonough is 10. They are both thriving students and athletes at their school in Baltimore, Maryland: The Calvert School. Winnie was known her entire life to be a tremendous cook and baker which was greatly appreciated by Chris and the kids as well as their extended families. Winnie loved being in the kitchen. It brought her much joy to be able to put a delicious meal on the table which she did every night of the kids' childhoods. She also made every Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner for the extended McDonough clan which usually meant over 20 people. The food was delicious and no one left the table hungry! While at college, the kids especially remember the care packages that Winnie used to send them which would always include a card, home baked cookies and bags of candy. The care packages would show up at their dorm rooms and inevitably be gone within minutes. Many also remember the Chuck Wagon Tailgates that Winnie and Chris used to host at Drew University after John's Lacrosse Games. The players would descend upon the table where Chris and Winnie would feed the entire team after a win or a loss. Additionally, Winnie loved gardening and crocheting/knitting. Her garden in Maplewood was known on the street to always be the prettiest. And her crocheted baby blankets were the envy of the town. Chris died from Melanoma in July of 2010. As Chris was dying, the kids noticed that Winnie was getting confused easily and forgetful at a level that was concerning. They took her to the doctor to discover that she was showing signs of Early Onset Alzheimer's. They let her live in the home she had shared with Chris until January 2012 when safety became a concern. After much research, they moved her to Brandywine Living at Reflections at Colts Neck that specializes in Dementia and Alzheimer's. Winnie lived there for 4+ years and was a stellar resident and absolutely adored the staff including everyone from the janitor to the Executive Director. She was the first to help out with daily chores and was dubbed 'the welcoming committee' by the staff. She helped new residents become familiar and comfortable with their new surroundings.... and was known to enjoy sitting in the front lobby area where she got to people watch. She also very much enjoyed it when the local musician would visit the facility – that is when she would get up and dance and sing. Regardless of how the disease progressed, Winnie's foot was always tapping the music. Winnie passed away early in the morning on Wednesday December 21st with her four children at her bedside. They wanted to be there for her until she took her last breath.