Obituary of Mary E. McCue

Mary E. McCue, RN, passed away unexpectedly on March 28, 2010 at Capital Hospital surrounded by close friends and loved ones. Born on March 31, 1920, Miss McCue was the eldest of the 5 children of John and Helen McCue. Mary is survived by sisters Jane Flint of Yarmouth and Helen Gillis of South Portland and six nieces and nephews. She is also survived by four great nieces and nephews, Louie and Mick diStasio of Yarmouth and Helen and Nona Gillis of Cape Elizabeth.Immediately upon graduation from Cathedral High School (now McAuley) in Portland in 1938 she entered the Nurses training program at Queens Hospital in Portland and upon graduation staff. Mary was part of the transitioning of Queens into Mercy Hospital in 1943. She soon became the head nurse on the maternity floor closely working with Drs. Francis Dooley and George Geyerhahn among others. In 1952 Miss McCue went to New York City to join the maternity staff of the Mount Sinai Hospital, but often driving back and forth to Maine to visit family and friends. At Mt Sinai Mary became a part of one the first Neonatology Departments in the nation. As such she was the front line of intensive critical care for hundreds of premature and sick infants. This became her calling. She became recognized for diagnostic abilities and management skills. In 1972, at the request of Dr Howard Fox she went to join the University of Kansas Medical Center at Kansas City where they opened the first advanced specialty Neonatal facility in that area of the country. Their mission was to provide critical lifesaving facilities for newborns both in the under served areas of the region and the cities. This was accomplished by networking with community practitioners and dedicated helicopter emergency transports. At UK Medical centershe was known for relentlessly maintaining clinic standards. Miss McCue became the "go to" person for a generation of residents in neonatology who would go on to become leading practitioners and academics in the rapidly expanding specialty throughout the world. In 1982 she "retired" from the world of the large metropolitan teaching hospital and would spend the next 25 plus years working with Fr John Breslin, MD of the Montfort Fathers in rural basic health clinics in Haiti and then the Dominican Republic on the island of Hispaniola. Working in remote areas they provided medical care where there was none. Traveling by landrover type vehicles through rutted roads and in a tiny clinic, first on the Haitian coast then in the Dominican mountains, they performed surgeries, delivered babies and ministered to the dying. A day might include amputations and even dental extractions. In all of her career's work Mary McCue, R.N. was powered by focused and evolving spiritual values that found their roots in the Catholicsm of her youth. She believed that life was a miraculous gift to mankind and there existed a universal sacred duty to nurture and protect it. Accordingly she believed in the "right to life" and had participated in political action and marched in Washington in support of that cause. Miss McCue also traveled extensively over sis decades,throughout the world with family and other groups including to Europe,China, Russia, the Middle East, Vietnam, the Baltics, Central America and the Caribbean. In addition to her relatives in Maine, Mary leaves behind Father Breslin, of Long Island, New York and numerous godchildren. In the last year of her life Mary moved to Olympia, Washington to be close to dear friends Jerome and Cyndi Zechmann. She lived with them, and their five children and five dogs. In recent months they all traveled to Hawaii and then lastly to Disneyland in California. Ever the photographer Jerome extensively photographed Mary at luaus and surrounded by family and the famed Disney characters that came of age when she did. She lead a life of purpose, joy and service. It is a legacy treasured by all who knew her. Memorials may be sent to: Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception 307 Congress Street Portland, Maine 04101 The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows 442 South De Mazenod Drive Belleville, IL 62223-1023 Memories and condolences may be left online for the family by clicking on “View Guestbook” below.