Mary Louise DeLacy

Mary Lou DeLacy, age 88, passed away peacefully on June 12, 2024, after a short illness with her beloved family by her side. She was born on March 30, 1936, in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in South Boston and West Roxbury.

Mary Lou is survived by her loving husband, Donald; her sons, Michael and Stephen and his wife Holly Ellington; and their children and her cherished grandchildren, Skyler and Kieran. She is also remembered with great love and affection by her extended family and many loving friends.

Mary Lou became a registered nurse in 1956 at the age of 20, dedicating her career to caring for others. She worked in many nursing fields, including psychiatric care, hospice care, nurse education, and private nursing, and managed the hospice care of many close relatives who passed before her, including her father and mother-in-law.

She married Donald DeLacy, and they enjoyed 63 years together. They had three sons, David, Stephen, and Michael, and raised their family in Newton, Massachusetts. Mary Lou and Donald later moved to Cabot, Vermont, where they lived off the grid for the last 15 years, cherishing the peace and natural beauty of the area. They shared their home there with many friends and family by hosting a yearly summer party mainly for the friends of their children. During the winters, they spent time with their sons in Boston to stay close to family.

She was a feminist, a marcher for peace, civil rights, women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and equality and justice for everyone. She volunteered at the Cabot Library, reading to little children, and was a donor of children's books, play equipment, and musical instruments in her beloved son David's name. Mary Lou was also an animal lover and a lover and observer of hummingbirds. She was a humanist, a believer in science and medicine, and a kind stranger to all. She loved Jeopardy and was a devoted fan of crosswords, sudoku, and recently embraced the daily puzzle Wordle, which she was remarkably good at.

Mary Lou was a lover of music, enjoying everything from Queen to Mike Nesmith, Bing Crosby to John Denver, Nina Simone to David Bowie. She played the piano and was a singer with a beautiful voice who shared the songs that her own mother sang to her.

Mary Lou was an immense source of love and support to her children, husband, father and mother, nieces, nephews, and friends. Her kindness and compassion were immediately obvious to anyone she met and were a wonderful gift to those close to her. It's difficult to describe, but Mary Lou had an incredible ability for making people feel seen and understood, particularly the younger generation and the friends of her children. She always lovingly welcomed young people into her home and was considered a "bonus mom" to many. Her persistent kindness and acceptance of people in whatever circumstances was just so incredibly tenderhearted. She will be greatly missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Cabot Library in Cabot, VT.

A burial service will be held at the family property in Cabot on Saturday, 6/22, at 4 PM.