Skip to contents
In This Issue:
Obituary
Mary McCarthy Heavey, a volunteer and former chair of the Southern Jamaica Plain Health Center Community Advisory Board, died March 24, 2010, after a long illness. She was 64.
“Many staff knew her as the volunteer who made reminder calls for patient appointments, and for many patients, her voice with the familiar reminder message was deeply associated with their experience at the health center,” said Tom Kieffer, executive director of the health center. “She was a great booster for the health center, and she would always let you know that she had the greatest doctor in the world, Dr. Lambert.”
Mrs. McCarthy Heavey, a resident of Jamaica Plain, was an advocate for the needs of the mentally ill and disabled, a longtime member of the local ward committee and active in her church, in addition to serving on the board of the health center. In 2000, she was honored for her contributions and dedication with the Volunteer of the Year Award at BWH. In January of 2010, she was honored by the staff and board of SJPHC with a special recognition for her long service to the health center and the community.
“Mary and I worked closely together 30 years ago in organizing the community against a wave of arson-for-profit that was affecting JP, and on many issues in the years since then,” Kieffer said. “At SJPHC, I could always depend on her to call me with ‘just a suggestion’ when she or another of the many SJPHC patients that she knew encountered some aspect of our service or care that she felt could be improved, and her suggestion was always delivered in a constructive way for ‘her’ health center.”
She is survived by her husband Michael Heavey; siblings Thomas and Marge McCarthy; and her close extended family. A funeral Mass was celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Church followed by interment at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in West Roxbury.