Sturbridge: Mary R. (Duffy) McCormack, 87, of Old Farm Rd., passed away on Sunday, May 31st, in the Blaire House of Worcester after a long illness.

Her husband of 60 years, Edward J. McCormack, passed away in 2024.  She leaves her son, Peter W. McCormack and his partner Theresa Adamsons of Harwich and her daughter, Kerry H. McCormack of Sturbridge.  She was predeceased by her sister, Patricia Farrell.  Mary was born in Braintree, the daughter of Wendell and Mary (Mawn) Duffy.  She was a graduate of Stonehill College.

After graduating from Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, she received her bachelor's degree from Stonehill College.  Mary started her professional career as an elementary school teacher in Hingham for a few years before marrying her husband, Ned, and eventually relocating to Sturbridge. There she became a stay-at-home mom, raising two (amazing) kids and finding her way to self-employment as an artist. She initially began creating handcrafted ornaments of Old Sturbridge Village landmarks to sell in their museum shop, leading ultimately to a more than thirty-five-year creative partnership with Anderson's of Nantucket.

Among Mary's wealth of hobbies, she had a special place in her heart for all things art related. Early on she created masterful acrylic paintings, and spent many hours behind her sewing machine, making all-manner of things from pillows to quilts to back-to-school outfits that still haunt her children.  Through the years she turned her attention to the joy of making Nantucket baskets.  After taking classes for several years, and honing her craft, she also added the art of scrimshaw to her resume and became a formidable amateur talent in that artistic arena.

Her love of food (both cooking and eating) fueled a lifetime of creating and experimenting in the kitchen. Her culinary efforts were aided by a collection of nearly five hundred cookbooks, which she read cover-to-cover, dog-earing pages and making personal notes all along the way.

Later in life she enjoyed traveling with her husband and friends and had many adventures across Europe, Costa Rica and Peru. These adventures usually included drinking wine, laughing heartily and occasionally jumping off a mountain. Most of these trips are enshrined in meticulously made photo albums she would religiously assemble upon returning home.

Throughout her life, Mary always enjoyed being a social butterfly. She belonged to a local sorority, as well as several other social clubs and enjoyed participating in events such as her much loved annual Crazy Christmas gathering with dear friends. This enthusiasm for social activity extended to fitness including exercise classes at the YMCA, dance and tap classes at the Sturbridge Senior Center and a surprising (to us anyway) very late in life passion for Pickleball at The Rec!

Mary's funeral service and burial in Bourne National Cemetery, Bourne, MA, will be private.  There are no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating toward Alzheimer's research.

The Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home, 130 Hamilton St., Southbridge, is directing arrangements.