Maureen Macdonagh

Please join us in celebrating the life of Maureen MacDonagh, who passed away peacefully on August 11, 2022. She is survived by four children and ten grandchildren. Maureen was a humanist and a feminist. She believed in the potential for goodness and kindness in all people and that women shouldn’t be defined or confined by their biology. She embodied those beliefs in the life she lived; on her own terms. For those who knew her in her younger years you’ll remember her for her compassion and commitment to her family, both immediate and extended, her thirst for and love of learning, and of course her sultry renditions of Peggy Lee’s “Fever”. For those who knew her in her middle years you’ll remember how she turned a years-long battle with rheumatoid arthritis into an opportunity with the U of M to travel to conventions, educating primary care physicians on recognizing patients with the disease; you’ll remember her enjoyment of red wine and dark chocolate; how hard she worked to complete her Bachelor’s and build a career as an IT manager; how she cared for her dying husband, and later her growing brood of grandchildren. For those who knew her in her later years you’ll know how much she valued her independence, even as she grew more dependent, and cherished the time she got to spend with her grandkids. And for those who knew her at all you’ll remember what a kind, strong, and generous person she was and how greatly she will be missed. In a final act of generosity and in keeping with her desire to help others, Maureen donated her body to the University of Michigan.