MYRA MAHON

MAHON--Myra Ellen. Myra Ellen Mahon (nee Murphy) passed peacefully at home in Delray Beach, Florida, on Saturday, January 29, 2011, embraced and enveloped by the love and caring presence of her dear and cherished husband of 54 years, Arthur J. Mahon, and her four beloved children, Maura, Donna, Arthur and Nancy. Myra was also the dear Nana to her two grandchildren, Christopher and Emelia, and a wonderful mother-in-law to Susan who were holding her hand in spirit when she passed. Myra's date of passing was the Feast Day of Saint Thomas Aquinas, a day that her husband Arthur treasures and holds close to his heart, because on the day when he first met his beautiful, seventeen year-old wife-to-be at a Manhattan College dance, she told him she was reading the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Born in New York City on April 15, 1937 to James H. Murphy, from County Clare, and Mary Murphy (nee Caroon) from Westmeath, Ireland, Myra was always proud of, and true to, her roots in the Bronx and Ireland. She is predeceased by her parents, her deeply loved sister, Clare, and sisters-in-law, Mary Therese and Delia Rose. Her baby sister, Nula, who Myra loved dearly, survives her. Myra is also survived by her nieces, Maria O'Leary and Diane Slote, to whom she became a surrogate mother after their mothers' deaths, and by twenty other wonderful nieces and nephews from the Neil Mahon, Fitzpatrick, Burris, Thanhauser, and Slote families who were blessed to spend many weekends, Christmases, Thanksgivings, ski trips and also summers in Madison and Candlewood Lake, Connecticut, with their beautiful, generous, wise, funny and slightly irreverent Aunt Myra. A kid from Woodycrest Avenue in the Highbridge section of the Bronx, Myra lived from childhood with enormous intelligence, passion, elegance, conviction and concern for the underdog and the underserved. When the family moved to Queens, she attended St. Agnes High School in College Point. Married at the age of 20 to her love, Arthur, she returned to college as a young mother of four and graduated from Marymount, Tarrytown, summa cum laude as the valedictorian of her class, going on to earn her Masters in Social Work with high honors from Fordham University. Myra initiated her business career as a social worker at the United Way of Tristate in New York City, rising rapidly to Executive Vice President overseeing corporate partnerships and giving. She went on to become the Development Director of the Archdiocese of New York where she was fueled by her passion for raising funds for children to attend inner-city Catholic primary schools like the one she attended, Sacred Heart. An extraordinary team builder, mentor and leader, Myra took great joy and pride in the many people she worked alongside of, and she forever cherished their shared accomplishments and victories. Myra also lent her enormous energy and passion for social justice as a Member of the Board of Directors of a legion of wonderful organizations that embodied her unending commitment to giving all people the opportunity to live full, dignified and joyful lives. Those organizations included Marymount College, Women In Need, New York Foundation, Calvary Hospital and Hospice, New York State Parks and Recreation Commission, Museum of the City of New York and the Healthcare Chaplaincy. Myra took great joy serving for many years as the Co-Chair of the Women's Health Symposium at Weill Cornell Medical Center with her very dear friend and fellow New Yorker, Joan Weill. Myra was surprised five years ago when her loving husband, Arthur, told her that the second floor of the Weill Cornell Medical College's new building under construction at 1305 York Avenue in New York City would contain a resource center and it would be named in her honor. She was so pleased that the Myra Mahon Patient Resource Center included reading rooms and a library to help patients and families learn about and manage their illnesses. Upon its completion, Myra personally dedicated the Center "To those who serve unseen." Myra's immediate family and her personal assistant, Joan Hanebury, whom Myra loved dearly, attended a private memorial mass on Monday, January 31, 2011, at Holy Name of Jesus Church, Palm Beach, Florida, to honor and bless her memory. How appropriate and meaningful it is that Monday was the feast day of St. John Bosco, who dedicated his life to the education of poor children. There will be a mass celebrating Myra's life and all of her many loves, joys and accomplishments at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City in the Spring. Donations in Myra's memory can be made to the Inner City Scholarship Fund of the Archdiocese of New York (Ms. Helen Lowe (212)371-1011, ext. 3325) for the Myra Mahon Fund for students at the Sacred Heart School in the Bronx, or to the Weill Cornell Medical College (Mr. Larry Schafer (212)746-4070) for the support of the Myra Mahon Patient Resource Center. Myra blessed the many people she loved with her warm spirit, endless wisdom, grace and intuitive gift for understanding and helping them. She leaves us with the memory of her sharing her favorite Irish prayer, "May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rain fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand."