Mary Ann MacKay

Mary Ann (Kimball) MacKay, 84, resident of Milford, NH, died November 27, 2025 after a nearly 10-year battle with Cholangiocarcinoma. She was born October 18, 1941 in Farmington, NH, to Lawrence H. and Lillian B. (Elliot) Kimball. At the young age of 4, she moved to the family farm in Alton, NH after losing her mother to complications from surgery, where she was raised by her father and grandmother.

Mary Ann graduated from Alton High School in 1959 where she was a cheerleader and also played on the basketball team. After traveling a bit with friends, she attended Margaret’s School of Cosmetology in 1961 in Concord, NH, followed by work in salons in Concord and in Melrose, MA. She met her future husband, Daniel E. MacKay in Alton, NH where they fell in love while waterskiing on Lake Winnipesaukee. They married in 1962, and moved to Milford in 1965, where they raised 3 children.

Mrs. MacKay will be well-remembered by kids who attended Milford schools, where she was proud to be a “lunch lady” for 24 years. Any of them that might have occasionally forgotten their lunch money will know that she would never let a kid go hungry on her watch, instead shuffling them through the line with a wink. After retiring from the school lunch program, she very much enjoyed working events alongside her daughter Lisa at Hampshire Hills for 12 years. She was delighted to have time to babysit the grandkids in her retirement years, spending hours playing, reading, cooking, and creating with them. She was most happy in her home, a new puzzle spread out on the table, or working in her garden.

Mary Ann was truly the matriarch of her family, who she loved more than anything. She was Grammie to not only her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but also to many of their friends, who she loved to meet. She was well-known for her strawberry jam, her ability to bring any neglected plant back to life, her clothing repair skills and her knack for removing a stubborn stain. Her thin and crisp Christmas Sugar Cookies were so sought-after that she started hiding a second batch to be sure there would be cookies on Christmas Day. She loved the beach, and in recent years rented a house big enough for the whole family to stay with her for a week in York, ME.

Mary Ann’s family would like to thank her whole medical team for the excellent care she received at Southern NH Medical Center and the Radiation Center, but most especially Dr. Gautami Rao and her staff at Foundation Hematology/Oncology, whose straight-forward advice and loving care was immeasurably valuable to her.

Mary Ann’s surviving family members include her children Lisa MacKay and partner Fred Drouin of Barnstead, NH, Scott MacKay of Hancock, NH, and Jennifer MacKay and husband Chris Mackie of Greenfield, NH; her brother Lawrence H. Kimball of Post Falls, ID; her brother- and sister-in-law John and Nancy MacKay of Nashua, NH; her grandchildren Stephanie Doyle of Portland, ME, Chelsea Doyle of Milford, NH, Halley Karlok and her husband Patrick Murphy of Wolfeboro, NH, Christopher W. Mackie of Milford, NH, Sara Mackie of Greenfield, NH and Sienna MacKay of Hancock, NH; her great-grandchildren Remy, Ellie, Ella and Daniel; nieces Sharon, Kathy and Nicole; and her cat Lucy. She was predeceased by her husband, Daniel E. MacKay, her sister-in-law Kirsten Kimball, her brother- and sister-in-law William and Florence MacKay and her nephew David MacKay.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 13th at 1:00pm in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to the charity of your choice, or to your local school’s unpaid lunch account fund. To share a memory or offer a condolence, please go to www.smith-heald.com