Jean H. McKeough
Born In: Merigomish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Passed in: North Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada
Passed on: October 16th, 2011
It is with deep sorrow we announce the death of Jean H. McKeough on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, at her home following a long illness.
Born in Merigomish, N.S., she was the daughter of the late James and Catherine (Duggan) Purdy.
Their farm was next to the one-room schoolhouse in Wentworth Valley, where she was educated. Jean completed Grade 12 at the Yarmouth County Academy while living with her older sister and brother-in-law, the late Mary and Ainsley Smith. She went on to study nursing at St. Francis Xavier University and the Halifax Infirmary, where she met Liam, a medical student who became her beloved husband. They lived in Worcester, Mass. for several years, where Jean was the head nurse on a surgical floor while her husband was a surgical resident at Tufts University. It was a testament to her nursing skill and professionalism that such a position was bestowed on such a young woman from outside the US.
Jean moved to North Sydney in 1955, where her husband, the late Dr. Liam L. McKeough, began a surgical practice, and they started their family. Summers were spent at their A-frame cabin on the bank of the Clyburn Brook in Ingonish, where Jean played golf every morning with her sister-in-law Marie-Paule (Dr. Tom) McKeough and friends the late Pauline (George) Leonard and the late Lil (Moe) Rosenbloom. Afternoons were spent with her children at the Ingonish Public Beach, with ice cream cones afterward. Jean also tended a massive rock garden there, and entertained her friends and relatives with lavish lobster dinners.
She is survived by her sons Peter, Yellowknife, William T. (Joan), Dartmouth; and David (Donna), North Sydney; and daughters, Ellen, Kingston, Ont.; and Maura, who saw her through her long illness. She is also survived by her daughter-in-law, Susan, Dartmouth; granddaughters, Rachel, Meaghan, Emily and Regan; grandson, Rory; and by many nieces and nephews, in whom she took great delight and pride.
She was predeceased by her parents, James and Catherine Purdy, her husband, Liam, her beloved son, Philip, her sisters, Mary and Emma, and her brothers, Hughie and Owen.
The family wishes to thank Dr. Michel McKeough and Louise McKeough for their help and support.
Jean was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, and will be missed greatly.
Visitation will be held from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18 in the W.J. Dooley Funeral Home, 107 Pleasant St., North Sydney. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011, at St. Joseph Church, North Sydney with Rev. Patrick O,Neill officiating. Cremation has taken place. Burial will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery, North Sydney.
Online condolences may be sent to www.wjdooley.com
