Obituary for Barbara McKie (Lewis)
Barbara McKie
Loving mother and grandmother, friend to all she met
Barbara McKie always enjoyed the ups that life throws the way of all of us, and she always endured, with grace and class, life’s downs.
She was born Barbara Ann Lewis Jan. 25, 1926, and later endured as a child of the Depression. She recalled picking up coal from the railbed near her home to help heat her family’s nearby home.
After graduating from Medford High School, Barbara studied to become an X-ray technician, a job she proudly held at hospitals in Boston and in Florida.
After World War II, she had to delay her marriage to Lincoln McKie while she spent nine months recovering from tuberculosis, a recovery that continued on an outpatient basis after her marriage and for another two years.
She raised four children and, in their later years, she was for more than 20 years the bookkeeper for the family business, Lincoln Equipment Associates, based in her lifelong hometown of Medford.
Barbara died Tuesday, April 13, in Tufts Medical Center after a life well-lived for 93 years.
She was blessed late in life with four beloved and loving grandchildren, who became her special joy. She was the architect of many adventures that brought them the same kind of joy they brought her. Most importantly, she gave them an example of how to live with care and compassion, dignity and integrity, and a deep, rich love for family and friends – the same example with which she blessed her sons.
Barbara was a longtime parishioner of St. Raphael’s Church in West Medford and a dedicated member of its Ladies’ Sodality and other church groups. She was Christian in principle as well as in name.
Barbara was an avid reader and an adept and fiercely competitive card player.
She was a member of Winchester Country Club for more than three decades and a member of the Medford Rotary for many years, where she and her husband made and nurtured many of the friendships they enjoyed for the rest of their lives.
Barbara had a knack for making friends with all she met, and making them feel better after they met her than before.
Her loving husband of 63 years, Lincoln R. McKie, died in 2010. Barbara leaves and was the devoted mother of Lincoln R. McKie Jr., his wife, Gladys, of Medford; Thomas S. McKie of Medford; Peter E. McKie of New York City; and Mark A. McKie, and his wife, Katherine, of Charlestown; and four cherished grandchildren, Rachel McKie, Kate Ann McKie, Andrew McKie and April McKie. She was the loving daughter of the late Esther (Morse). and sister of the late Robert Jones and James Jones. Barbara is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, godchildren, and beloved friends.
Visiting hours will be held at the Keefe Funeral Home, 5 Chestnut St., Arlington, Monday, Aug. 19, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. A funeral Mass will be held in St. Raphael Church, 512 High St., Medford, at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend, and after Mass, in honor of Barbara, to join the family in celebrating her life. Interment will be private. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those who so wish consider making a donation to the American Heart Association or to a charity of the donor’s choice. To send a message of condolence, please visit www.keefefuneralhome.com.
Loving mother and grandmother, friend to all she met
Barbara McKie always enjoyed the ups that life throws the way of all of us, and she always endured, with grace and class, life’s downs.
She was born Barbara Ann Lewis Jan. 25, 1926, and later endured as a child of the Depression. She recalled picking up coal from the railbed near her home to help heat her family’s nearby home.
After graduating from Medford High School, Barbara studied to become an X-ray technician, a job she proudly held at hospitals in Boston and in Florida.
After World War II, she had to delay her marriage to Lincoln McKie while she spent nine months recovering from tuberculosis, a recovery that continued on an outpatient basis after her marriage and for another two years.
She raised four children and, in their later years, she was for more than 20 years the bookkeeper for the family business, Lincoln Equipment Associates, based in her lifelong hometown of Medford.
Barbara died Tuesday, April 13, in Tufts Medical Center after a life well-lived for 93 years.
She was blessed late in life with four beloved and loving grandchildren, who became her special joy. She was the architect of many adventures that brought them the same kind of joy they brought her. Most importantly, she gave them an example of how to live with care and compassion, dignity and integrity, and a deep, rich love for family and friends – the same example with which she blessed her sons.
Barbara was a longtime parishioner of St. Raphael’s Church in West Medford and a dedicated member of its Ladies’ Sodality and other church groups. She was Christian in principle as well as in name.
Barbara was an avid reader and an adept and fiercely competitive card player.
She was a member of Winchester Country Club for more than three decades and a member of the Medford Rotary for many years, where she and her husband made and nurtured many of the friendships they enjoyed for the rest of their lives.
Barbara had a knack for making friends with all she met, and making them feel better after they met her than before.
Her loving husband of 63 years, Lincoln R. McKie, died in 2010. Barbara leaves and was the devoted mother of Lincoln R. McKie Jr., his wife, Gladys, of Medford; Thomas S. McKie of Medford; Peter E. McKie of New York City; and Mark A. McKie, and his wife, Katherine, of Charlestown; and four cherished grandchildren, Rachel McKie, Kate Ann McKie, Andrew McKie and April McKie. She was the loving daughter of the late Esther (Morse). and sister of the late Robert Jones and James Jones. Barbara is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, godchildren, and beloved friends.
Visiting hours will be held at the Keefe Funeral Home, 5 Chestnut St., Arlington, Monday, Aug. 19, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. A funeral Mass will be held in St. Raphael Church, 512 High St., Medford, at 11 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend, and after Mass, in honor of Barbara, to join the family in celebrating her life. Interment will be private. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those who so wish consider making a donation to the American Heart Association or to a charity of the donor’s choice. To send a message of condolence, please visit www.keefefuneralhome.com.