John E. McNally

BOSTON - John Edward McNally of Boston, died suddenly on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012, one day after celebrating his 81st birthday.

Dr. McNally was born in Fitchburg, Mass., the middle of five children. He graduated from St. Bernard's High School in 1949, and later from Saint Anselm College and St. Louis University School of Medicine.

In his senior year of medical school, he met his lifelong love, Lenora Skruck of Hubbard, Ohio, who was also attending St. Louis University (School of Nursing). Upon graduating medical school, and after a one-year internship in St. Louis, he married Lenora on Aug. 30, 1958. He then entered the Public Health Service, and, as he and Lenora began raising a family, they lived in Providence, Baltimore, New York City, Seattle, and Boston, all locales where he worked on various assignments.

In 1966, they settled with their five children in Manchester, N.H. Dr. McNally established a pathology practice at Elliot Hospital. It became a thriving practice with three partners serving. In addition to Elliot, he also worked at outlying hospitals in Peterborough and Derry. He served as president of the medical staff in the late 1970s, and also as the head of the Pathology Department. He was very active within the community, serving as a co-founder of the New Hampshire Symphony, and presiding on various boards in the city.

Dr. McNally retired after 31 years and moved to Boston in 1997, acquiring a home on Beacon Street, several blocks from the Boston Common. He truly loved the city, and had a keen mind and curiosity, taking full advantage of the city's educational environs. He and Lenora took courses in literature, philosophy, history and politics at Harvard, B.U., Boston Center for Adult Education and Cambridge Center for Adult Education. He taught himself both Spanish and French. They became members of the Boston Symphony and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. They also enjoyed the theater and dining at the many restaurants within walking distance of their Back Bay home.

They shared the love of travel. It was an interest that began when Dr. McNally was in the Public Health Service, and travelled as part of his job. It became a lifelong passion for them. They visited every country in Europe, went on a walking tour of the Swiss Alps, barged on the Seine in France and went to China twice. They also visited Australia and New Zealand, with Antarctica being the only continent they never saw, although it was on their list!

In addition to his beloved wife Lenora of 54 years, Dr. McNally leaves five children, Catherine Allen of Somerville, Monica Hough of Falmouth, Sean McNally of Newton, Alicia McNally of Pennsylvania, and Alexandra McNally of Boston. He also leaves a brother, Jeremiah, of Baltimore. He delighted in and adored his grandchildren: Cole, John Henry, Wesleigh, Ned, Thomas, Kenneth, Edith, Ella and Will. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.