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Mary Lou Keenan
Loving wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister and friend;
Mary Lou (Crane) Keenan, 87, a longtime resident of Lowell, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on Monday June 21, 2021, surrounded by members of her loving family.
She was the beloved wife for almost 63 years to James A. Keenan, Jr., who survives her.
Born in Holden, Massachusetts, August 27, 1933, the daughter of the late Edward J. Crane, MD and the late Louise E. (Dumont) Crane, she was raised in Holden, MA and Rye Beach, NH.
A graduate of the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro, Mary Lou went on to receive her AB in Mathematics from Trinity Washington University and then her Master’s in Education from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Mary Lou began her career as a computer programmer for the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C. with the Remington Rand Univac Corporation. She shifted her talents to education where she had a long and distinguished career as a teacher at the Nativity School in St. Paul, MN and later at Tewksbury Junior High School in Tewksbury, MA.
Prior to her retirement, Mary Lou was a Real Estate Agent with the James L. Cooney Real Estate Agency of Lowell for many years.
A devoted wife, mother, grandparent and friend, she was very family oriented and was blessed with many longtime loyal friends whom she cherished deeply.
Active in her community, Mary Lou served as a Board member and Past President of the Board for Girl’s Inc. of Greater Lowell and Past Chairperson and member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro as well as the former Alumnae Board Treasurer. In addition, she was a past Secretary and longtime Board member of the Merrimack Repertory Theatre and a Board Member of the Whistler House Museum of Art both in Lowell.
Hard working and humble in nature, Mary Lou was recognized for her contributions to the community by Girl’s Inc. as the Honoree for the Celebration of Today’s Woman in 2011, as the Board Person of the Year in 2018 by the Non Profit Alliance of Great Lowell and also as Board Member of the Year by the Association of Catholic Admissions and Advancement Professionals of New England.
Besides her husband Jim, Mary Lou is survived by her two sons John H. Keenan of Cleveland, Ohio and James A. Keenan, III of Dracut; two daughters Anne Leahy and her husband Daniel of Prescott Valley, AZ and Patricia Keenan of Lowell; her grandchildren Olivia Oshosdin and her husband Brandon of Columbus, OH, Rachel Keenan of Beavercreek, OH, Zachary Keenan Soutier of Tempe, AZ and Katherine Anne Keenan-Pascale of Prescott Valley, AZ; her great grandchildren Anastasia, Amara and Adonis Oshosdin of Columbus, OH; her sister Helen E. Van Son of Huntingtown, MD; her brother John W. Crane and his wife Patricia (O’Donnell)Crane of Mt. Pleasant, SC; her sister-in-law Ruth (McCaughey) Crane of Hollis, NH; many nieces and nephews and dear friends John and Kathryn Stevenson of Beavercreek, OH.
She was also the sister of the late Edward J. Crane, Jr. who died December 11, 2020 and sister-in-law of the late L. George Van Son who died May 17, 2019.
Friends may attend her Memorial Visitation at the O’DONNELL FUNERAL HOME 276 PAWTUCKET ST. in Lowell on Monday June 28, 2021 from 4 to 7 P.M. Relatives and friends are invited to her Memorial Funeral Mass at the IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH in Lowell on Tuesday June 29, 2021 at 10 o’clock. Her Committal Services will be held privately for the family at a later date. E-condolences at www.odonnellfuneralhome.com. Those wishing may make contributions in her memory to Girl’s Inc. of Greater Lowell, 222 Worthen St., Lowell, MA 01852. Arrangements by Funeral Director James F. O’Donnell, Jr. (978) 458-8768.
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