MARY FRANCES 'MURPH' CHISHOLM

Funeral service for the late Mary Frances ‘Murph’ Chisholm, 90, Antigonish, was held August 29 in St. Ninian Cathedral with Father Donald MacGillivray officiating.  Burial was in the parish cemetery.

Mrs. Chisholm died August 25, 2019, in St. Martha’s Regional Hospital, Antigonish.

Reader at the funeral Mass was Judy MacKenzie. Music was provided by Margret MacGregor MacDonald.

Pallbearers were Gerry VanOirschot, Danny Grant, Paul Chisholm, Devon Chisholm, Donny Statchook and Patrick Curry.

Born in November 7, 1928, in Sydney, she was a daughter of the late Dennis and Jane (Hollohan) Murphy.  She graduated from Holy Angels High School and moved to Antigonish in 1947 to study and train as a nurse at St. Martha’s Hospital. She graduated in 1950. She was known as ‘Murph’ at the hospital to distinguish her from another Mary Murphy. The nickname became even more helpful when she married Fraser Chisholm in 1960, as there were several Mary Chisholms in Antigonish at the time. She and her husband were married for 41 years, spending a significant period of their days together on trips to Boston, Hartford and throughout the province to deliver vehicles to her husband’s customers or to visit relatives. She went on a honeymoon trip by car to Monterrey, Mexico, in 1960 and, in their later years, an annual drive to Florida. Once she received her RN designation, was was a supervising nurse at St. Martha’s TB Sanitorium for five years, with 50 patients under her care. She joined Dr. Murphy’s practice, retiring early to stay at home with her three children. While raising her family, she joined the St. Martha’s Hospital Auxiliary, holding positions of secretary and treasurer for several years, and joined in the preparation of many fundraising activities for the hospital. She knitted and crocheted as well throughout most of her life, contributing to many of the Auxiliary sales until arthritis curtailed this activity. She took evening classes in ceramics and upholstery and learned how to use a computer in her 70s. She took great pleasure in scanning roadside sales and antique stores for hidden gems. Despite a debilitating back issue for almost 20 years, she continued to make trips to Saint John, Ireland and Florida. She enjoyed gardening and reading, primarily of murder mysteries.

She is survived by two sons, Paul (Lucia), Cork, Ireland; Michael (Colleen), Saint John, New Brunswick; daughter, Elaine, Seattle, Washington; four grandchildren, Kelly (Eoin) O’Doherty, Cormac Chisholm, Erin (Borden) Mann, Devon Chisholm; great-grandson, Flynn O’Doherty; sister, Dolores Lynds, Truro; brother, Peter Murphy, British Columbia; many nieces and nephews in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario and the United States.

She was predeceased by her husband, Fraser; brother, John; four sisters, Patricia, Shirley, Veronica, Jeanette.

Memorial donations may be made to VON Antigonish or St. Martha’s Regional Hospital Auxiliary. 

Online condolences:  www.clcurry.com