Margaret "Mag" Devanney
Margaret "Mag" Devanney
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Margaret Agatha Devanney, 97, former Shenandoah resident, died Saturday, June 21, 2025, at Glen Brook Rehabilitation and Healthcare, Berwick, where she had been a resident since August 2024.
Born Dec. 7, 1927, she was the sixth child and second daughter of Jeremiah and Kathleen (Kelly) Byrne, of Brownsville near Shenandoah, Schuylkill County.
Margaret lived all but the last three years of her life in the tiny coal "patch," caring for her parents and several of her brothers.
A graduate of West Mahanoy Township High School in 1945, she worked in the F. W. Woolworth store on Main Street in downtown Shenandoah for 45 years.
In 1965, she married John Devanney of Girardville, who preceded her in death in 1991.
"Mag," as she was affectionately known, was celebrated for her skills in the kitchen, cooking Sunday dinners for extended family, always making sure everyone went home with "takeout."
A member of the former Annunciation Roman Catholic Church in Shenandoah (now Divine Mercy Parish), Mag baked towering cakes, incomparable fudge and other treats for church picnics, holidays, birthdays and every other family event.
But her most selfless devotion was to her youngest brother, David, who was entrusted to Mag's care by her mother, and on whom she doted until his passing in 2016.
She kept up her Brownsville home until she was 94 years old, then moved to live with niece Kathleen Sachetti, Bloomsburg. She also lived at the Brookdale Retirement Community, Bloomsburg, before moving to Glen Brook.
In addition to her parents, husband and beloved brother, David, she was preceded in death by sisters Kathryn Dougherty and Anna Bramley, and brothers James, John, Jeremiah Jr. and Paul Byrne.
She is survived by two brothers, William, 99, formerly of Girardville and now Yardley, Pennsylvania, and Vincent, 93, Mascoutah, Illinois; also, by 16 nieces and nephews.
Viewing will be 9 a.m. Friday, June 27, at Divine Mercy Church, 108 W. Cherry St., Shenandoah, followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 10, celebrated by Msgr. Ronald C. Bocian.
Donations in her memory may be made to Divine Mercy Parish, 108 W. Cherry St., Shenandoah, PA 17976-2207, or to Commonwealth Hospice of Berwick, 1409 N. Market St., Suite 202, Berwick, PA 18603.
Thomas M. Sullivan Funeral Home Inc., Frackville is in charge of the arrangements.
To send a flower arrangement in memory of Margaret "Mag" Devanney, please click here to visit our sympathy store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
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