Mary Emma Rand (Morrissey), 50, of Salem, MA passed away suddenly on Monday, June 26, 2017 at home with her beloved daughter Emma Rand by her side.

Mary was born in Boston on August 5,1966 to Mary Hayden Morrissey and Patrick O. Morrissey. She grew up in Cohasset and Salem, graduating from Salem High School in 1984.  She later attended Westbrook College in Maine and graduated from the University of Southern Maine in 1989.  Mary lived with her family in Medford and later returned to Salem.  She worked for many years as a Recreational Therapist in several nursing care and rehabilitation centers in the greater Boston area.

Mary lived bravely and fearlessly with epilepsy her entire life and never let her condition keep her from following her dreams or pursuing her ambitions in both her professional and private life.   She was fiercely independent.  She was a steadfast supporter and volunteer for the Epilepsy Foundation New England, helping others to cope with their diagnosis and serving as an example of someone who had successfully overcome the obstacles associated with her condition.  In addition she was a skilled knitter who created beautiful, warm, works of art that she gave to those she loved.

Above all Mary was devoted to and extremely proud of her daughter Emma whom she encouraged and supported tirelessly. Her love for Emma knew no bounds and was the greatest joy of her life.

In addition to her daughter, Mary leaves her mother Mary Hayden Morrissey of Salem, her sister Jane Morrissey and her husband Christopher Smith of Salem, her brother Patrick Morrissey and his wife Mary of Manchester, NH, her sister Nancy Morrissey Hall and her husband Andrew Hall of Lynn, MA, her former husband David Rand of Peabody and several nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her father Patrick Morrissey.

Visiting hours will be held on Friday, June 30th from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Murphy Funeral Home, 85 Federal Street, Salem, MA.  Funeral procession from the Murphy Funeral Home on Saturday, July 1st at 9:30 AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 AM at Ste. Anne Church, 290 Jefferson Avenue, Salem. Burial to follow in Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem.

Memorial donations in Mary's name may be made to Epilepsy Foundation New England ( www.epilepsyfoundation.org/givehelp/donate/ ).  For additional information or on line guest book please call 978-744-0497 or visit www.MurphyFuneralHome.com .




Eulogy for Mary Rand July 1, 2017

by Pat Morrissey, loving younger brother of Mary

Some of my earliest memories of my sister, Mary were of a very active and cheerful little girl. I remember her constantly running, doing cartwheels, climbing trees and playing foursquare and kickball at the cul-de-sac we lived on when we were young. She loved animals and used to catch and cup toads in her hand, like a lot of little kids like to do. One day one of her toads jumped out of her hand and I crushed it with my bike tire. Mary was furious with me for being so cruel to an animal! Even then, Mary was standing up for the little guy, even though the little guy was a toad! Mary was also incredibly physically strong as a child. When she was only about 6, she could lift my father, who weighed almost 200 lbs, off the ground. She would just wrap her arms around his knees and dead lift him. We used to tell adults who visited us at the Morrissey house that Mary was strong. And at first, I assume that thought something like, "That's nice. The little girl is strong." Then they found themselves being lifted off the ground by Mary. It wasn't until then that they really knew how strong Mary was! I also remember Mary as being very generous, even when she was very young. We used to ride our bikes to West Corner, a small square with some stores near where we lived. When I told her I didn't have any money to buy candy, Mary would say, "It's okay. I have money." This always stuck in my mind that she was so generous… and the fact that she actually had money. Mary always had money! (This was a running joke in the Morrissey family.) Any time I had as much as a quarter, I would instantly spend it on candy for myself. But Mary was much more disciplined than I was. She had to be. Because of the illness that plagued her since she was just a year old, she had to plan ahead, such as planning for taking her medicine. She needed her pill, she needed her watch and she needed water- a lot of responsibility for a little girl! In addition to the watch, May also had to carry a purse a young age, for her medications. She looked so cute with her watch and her purse, but it was out of necessity that she had to have these things. Mary was also always the one who consistently had a present for our parents and grandparents on birthdays and holidays and would often finish her Christmas shopping as early as July. She was so responsible from such an early age! Mary's discipline and organization skills carried on into her adult life and career as well. She was the first Morrissey kid to buy a house and she was always a model employee and ran great programs as a recreational therapist, a field she went into because she wanted to help people. She was able to accomplish this despite the challenges she had just getting to work. Because of her epilepsy, Mary was never able to get a driver's license and had to take the T to work, often taking 3-4 hours to get to and from work every day. A couple of times Mary lost her job, not because of her performance, but because of her seizures. (That was never given as an official reason, but one just knows.) This didn't stop Mary! She typically had a new job doing the same thing in no time at all. She was very good at her job and extremely competent! Mary qualified for disability and did not even need to work for this reason. But despite this and all of the challenges, she insisted on continuing to work. Mary was set on leading a normal life and being a productive member of society and nothing was going to stop her! Mary also had a great ability to connect with people from a young age. She always had a lot of friends and made friends everywhere we went. For example, we would go on vacation to the Cape, and Mary would make a friend on the beach, at the pool or with the neighbor next door. Mary always made a friend! Mary made friends so easily because she was outgoing- she could talk with anyone! She also made friends because she was a good friend. She gave friendship to others and this is why she received so much friendship in return, Mary also often made friends with those less fortunate and she stood up for others. This included Mary's long track record of volunteer work for the Epilepsy Foundation, where she worked tirelessly to help others who suffered from Epilepsy lead normal and productive lives, as she herself was striving to do. Mary also wasn't afraid of anyone! If she thought someone was in-the-wrong or treating someone badly, she stood up to them. It didn't matter if it was a boss, a teacher, a doctor or anyone. Mary was not someone to be underestimated. She fought for what she believed was right and she could not be intimidated. She was absolutely fearless! I remember a story my mother told me about a therapist Mary didn't like when she was in her teens. Mary tried to leave the office and the therapist tried to block the door. (Remember the story about lifting my father?) Mary just grabbed him by the knees and lifted him out of the way, the therapist hovering in the air helplessly saying, "Put me down, Mary!" Mary and my mother looked at each other and laughed. The therapist had lost all credibility! My mother said to Mary, "You can put him down Mary. You win! We're going home!" The most important role in Mary's life was that of being a mother to Emma, the pride and joy of her life. The first time I saw Emma she was just a 4 lb newborn baby. Our entire family, including our mother was terrified that she would be okay because of her small size. Fortunately, Emma was more than okay. With the help of my mother and Emma's father, David, Mary raised Emma to be the beautiful young woman she is today, with all of her mother's compassion and the ability to connect with people. I don't want to embarrass Emma, but her mother was so proud of her good grades, the fact that she is on her second summer as a camp counselor and of her athletic accomplishments. She recently qualified for the "States" in the 800 Meter! And she's only a sophomore! Mary never gave up in her quest to build a normal life for her family and herself despite the challenges she endured. Despite that fact that God has taken her back from us at such a young age, I believe she was successful in this quest. Mary is in Heaven now and, if we behave ourselves, we'll see her again! In the meantime, she will serve as an inspiration to us to never quit, never back down and never shy away from helping those in need.