Elizabeth "Betty" McKinnon
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"Betty" Elizabeth Joyce Donahue McKinnon died peacefully on October 18 at the age of 92.
Betty was born on October 28, 1928 in Lewiston, Maine. She was the daughter of John D. and Mary Haskett Donahue. She grew up in Brunswick, Maine and graduated from Westbrook College in Portland, Maine.
Betty and Gordon "Mac" McKinnon were married in October of 1949. They lived in various locations around New England and New York while Mac was a newspaper journalist. They eventually settled in Sharon, Massachusetts and lived there for several decades. Betty worked for the Sharon Cooperative Bank and made many friends through her work and while volunteering for town activities.
She and Mac were involved in the Massapoag Yacht Club in Sharon, and their enjoyment of sailing expanded to include shared sailing adventures in the Bahamas and along the Maine coast with life-long friends Fred and Mary Bailey and an associate of Mac's from the National Fire Protection Association, Tony O'Neill and his wife, Mimi.
The McKinnons moved to Springfield, New Hampshire in the 70s and finally to Hilltop Place in New London in the year 2000. They continued to enjoy the four seasons of New Hampshire even as their wider travels became more restricted. Wherever they lived or traveled, they met made friends. They valued those friendships to the end of their lives.
Betty will be remembered by her family and friends as an avid reader of books and newspapers. She was a good conversationalist and kept up with local, national and world affairs. She always enjoyed catching up with family and friends. She was a communicant of Our Lady of Fatima in New London, NH. She was a member of the New London Garden Club and had also volunteered at the Fells and at the Springfield Public Library.
Betty was pre-deceased by her husband Gordon and by a niece, Janet Burrus.
Betty leaves five nieces: Ann Walls of Concord, NH; Alison McGoff of Iowa City, Iowa; Rosemary Johnson of Bozeman, Montana; Meredith Spyker of Glenwood, Colorado; and Elizabeth McGoff of Bozeman, Montana. She also leaves family friends, Steve and Cyndi Bailey of New London, NH as well as Liza George of Braintree, Massachusetts. The Baileys lovingly assisted and provided good company to she and Gordon, especially in their final years.
The family would like to acknowledge the loving care Betty received from the staff at New London Hospital, Sunapee Cove and the Lake Sunapee Visiting Nurses Program and its Hospice Program. They also wish to thank the many residents at Hilltop and in the community who watched out and attended to Betty and Mac while living at Hilltop.
Anyone wishing to honor Betty's memory are asked to make a donation to the Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, 71 Pleasant Street, New London, NH 03257. To sign an online guestbook, please visit www.chadwickfuneralservice.com.