Maureen (Lenehan) McCafferty

Maureen (Lenehan) McCafferty, 86, of Portsmouth, NH, formerly of Manchester, died on April 11, 2025, after a lengthy illness.

Born in Manchester, NH on December 24, 1938, she was the daughter of John and Beatrice (Riordan) Lenehan. She graduated from St. Joseph’s High School for Girls and Notre Dame College in Manchester.

Prior to retirement, Maureen worked for many years in the Living Arts Section at the Boston Globe, in both the Manchester and Boston offices, where she had several dear friends.

Maureen will be remembered as a very loving mother, grandmother, friend, and person of strong faith, who took great care of others throughout her entire life. Even in her last years at the nursing home, she was often seen sitting by the nurses’ station holding the hand of another resident.

In the 1970’s, with six children still at home, she had the fortitude to go back and finish her degree at Notre Dame College in Manchester, where she graduated with honors. She loved the beach, the warm sun and the salt air. She loved Christmas. And over many years, she loved more than anything in the world cradling one of the many babies who found their way into her heart.

In her retirement years she became an avid Red Sox fan, watching every game, with a mound of Breyers ice cream on her lap and an eye trained on third baseman Mike Lowell. She was an avid reader of good books and loved watching an old movie with one of her kids, especially if it included Paul Newman in his “The Verdict” era. She was a talented writer, known especially for the many poems she would craft for this or that special occasion involving a family member or a friend. And, though proudly Irish, she made the finest spaghetti and meatballs anywhere!

Maureen loved spending as much time as possible with her family. She was the most willing, attentive, and caring listener. She was also very well known for her wonderful and warmly cheeky sense of humor! And without fail, she put others first in her life – unless Kris Kristofferson was performing on the television.

Maureen was predeceased by her brother John (Jackie) Lenehan in 1987 and by her husband George J. McCafferty in 2004.

Family members include her sisters Patty Fitzpatrick and Kathleen Roust; her children Patrick and wife Landya, Joe and wife Cathy, Katey, John and wife Maura, Brendan, and Terrence and wife Meghan; her grandchildren Liam, Katey, and Molly, Maureen and Claire, Keelan and Nevan, and Finn and Milly; and, finally, her great grandchildren Luke and Freya.

Thank you to the staff of Webster at Rye for looking after Maureen in her last three years. She made many special connections with the kind workers there, who helped give her both comfort and joy.

A memorial Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 18th at 10 am in St. Joseph Cathedral, Pine St, Manchester.  Burial will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford.

Donations may be made in her memory to support local students at https://bringitafterschool.org/