Obituary: Karen Jean Holbrook McDonagh

Karen Jean Holbrook McDonough

South Portland – Karen Jean Holbrook McDonagh, 84, of South Portland passed away peacefully on January 22, 2023, surrounded by her family.

She was born on August 10, 1938 in Portland to the late William T. and Vera Holbrook. Karen graduated from South Portland High School in 1956 and received her bachelor’s degree from her College of Gorham State Teachers in 1961. She worked for the England Telephone Company before she supported her family after graduating.

Karen has three children, John (Elizabeth) McDonagh of Greenville, South Carolina, Lynn (Ronald) Page of Pittsboro, North Carolina, and Susan (Ron) Reich of Benson, North Carolina, and nine grandchildren, Chelsea. , Haley is also leaving. , Madelyn, Bailey, Jessica, Ryan, Patrick, Blaine, and Emily: her two sisters, Judith (Bob) Kelly of South Portland and Deborah (Joe) Conley of The Village, Florida. Her former spouse, John F. McDonagh of Scarborough, and several beloved nieces and nephews.

Karen was known to be witty, with a great sense of humor, and engaging dialogue. She was an avid reader who loved traveling and seeing new places. Her favorite local venues were Willard Beach, Two Lights and Bug Lights (her father’s birthplace) on Maine’s south coast. A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she enjoyed discovering her family’s genealogy with her sisters. She was an avid cross-stitcher, especially Boston Red her socks and New England a sports enthusiast who loved to watch her Patriots games.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 am on January 27, 2023 at Hobbs Funeral Home, 671 US Route 1, Scarborough, Maine 04074, followed by a private funeral service at Brooklawn Memorial Park in Portland.

Online condolences may be provided at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, families are asking for donations to support stroke research.

American Heart Association, Brain Research Foundation, and

stroke foundation

spent decades researching

” Before