OBIT: Mary T. (O’Reilly) Fahey, Devoted to Her Family, Aide for Tip O’Neill

Mary Fahey

A Funeral Mass for Mary T. (O’Reilly) Fahey, will be celebrated on Friday July 7, 2017 at 9 a.m., in the Church of Saint Patrick, Watertown.

Mary passed away in her home on Friday evening after a brief illness. She was 70. Mary was the devoted mother of Theresa Fahey McGoldrick & her husband Timothy of Watertown, Julia Fahey Slattery & her husband Patrick of Brighton and James M. Fahey of Watertown. Loving grandmother of Emma & Matthew McGoldrick and Ronan & Malachy Slattery. Mary was the daughter of the late Michael and Margaret (Collins) O’Reilly. Dear sister of Paul T. O’Reilly of Belmont, James O’Reilly of Natick and the late, Jack, Robert, Joseph, Richard & David O’Reilly. Also loved by many cousins, nieces & nephews and great nieces & nephews.

Mary was born and raised in Watertown. She was the youngest of eight children and the only girl; She adored her seven older brothers. Mary was a proud, loyal and loving person. She could brighten up a room with her great sense of humor and infectious laugh. For Mary family was paramount, she loved and valued her time with her family above anything else in the world. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend. She often summoned family and friends to her home to celebrate Birthdays and Holidays over a home cooked meal and also enjoyed their company while dining at local restaurants. Mary was the biggest fan of her daughter Julia, when she played field hockey and of her grand kids, Matthew on the soccer field and Emma at her track and field meets. She was always cheering them on. Mary was the light and leader of her immediate family, best friends and chief advisor to her daughters, Theresa and Julia and her son Jim. She was the first person that her daughters would call with any problem and advised and watched over them daily.

Mary became the matriarch of the O’Reilly family and was like a second Mother to all of her nieces and nephews. Often she would advise them on life’s toughest issues and on how to raise and care for their children. A typical day for Mary would be taking calls from family or calling family to check on them and make sure they were well. She enjoyed nothing more than helping and caring for every member of the family.

Mary was a lover of politics, the Democratic Party and the best campaign manager you could ever ask for. She was extremely intelligent, driven and hardworking. She loved working as a congressional aide for former Speaker of the House and Congressman “Tip” O’Neill and on many campaigns for the Kennedy’s over the years. Mary was a lover of real estate. Even as a child, she would search the newspaper for “open houses” to visit with her mother. She became a real estate broker and owner of Fahey Real Estate in the 1980s. Her passion for real estate made her career a perfect fit. She was often recruited by other real estate companies due to the great success she had in the market but preferred to run her own business her way. She treated her real estate clients like family and would often talk them out of buying or selling a property if she thought it wasn’t in their best interest. Her priority was what was best for clients, not her own financial gain. She continued to work up until her illness selling a home in March and helping her client find a new home.

Mary had many friends and was a very outgoing and social person. She enjoyed life and loved to be with people. She regularly went out with friends and family to celebrate any and every occasion. Her friends loved her as did her family and anyone who met her.

She will be missed by all, especially her family.

Funeral from the MacDonald, Rockwell & MacDonald Funeral Home at 270 Main St. Watertown on Friday July 7th, at 8:00 a.m., followed by Funeral Mass in the Church of St. Patrick, 212 Main St., Watertown at 9:00 a.m. Relatives and friends kindly invited.

Visiting hours Thursday July 6, from 4-8 p.m. Interment St. Patrick Cemetery.