Jean Welsh MacGregor, 92, of Amherst, MA, passed away peacefully on Nov. 12, 2018. Jean was born in Norwich, CT, and moved with her parents, Harry and Minnie Welsh, and her sister Roberta at an early age to Marcellus, where she grew up surrounded by a bevy of aunts and uncles and cousins and friends. She later attended the University of Rochester, where she received a degree in nursing. After graduating, she took a job in New York City, where she spent her free time attending Broadway shows and trying (not always successfully) to avoid shellfish. On a train trip home she met her future husband, Paul MacGregor.
Jean and Paul married in 1955 and then embarked on a multi-year tour of the U.S., partially funded by the Army, with stops in Baltimore: Spokane, WA; Annandale, N.J.; Bound Brook, N.J.; Spring Valley, N.Y.; West Newton, MA, and Lexington, MA. Along the way, Jean dedicated herself to both her nursing career and her ever-growing family. Eventually she found her calling in the maternity ward of Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, where she helped welcome countless babies into the world. Jean and Paul spent their retirement years in Endicott, N.Y., and later in South Hadley, MA. Jean spent her final months in the loving care of the staff at the Fisher Home in Amherst, MA.
Jean was known as a gentle, caring mother and grandmother, and a conscientious, hardworking colleague. She showed courage in the face of adversity, whether dealing with medical emergencies or taking her children to Fenway Park, even when the Yankees were in town. In her free time she enjoyed travelling, watching classic movies and baseball, cooking, sewing, playing Scrabble and doing crosswords.
Jean was predeceased by Paul, her husband of 62 years, and by her sister, Roberta Welsh. She is survived by her children Barbara MacGregor of Saint Paul, MN, Carol Maloney and her husband John Maloney of Pittsfield, MA, Kathryn MacGregor and her husband Bruce Browne of Amherst, MA, Robert MacGregor and his wife Ruth MacGregor of Belfast, ME, and David MacGregor and his wife, Ana Arranz of Arlington, VA; her grandchildren Molly MacGregor of Denver, CO, Staff Sgt. Julian Herman, USMC, of Alexandria, VA, Helena Herman of Pittsfield, MA, Emily Browne of Amherst, MA, Cliff Browne of Amherst, MA, Anna MacGregor of Belfast, ME, Andrea MacGregor of Arlington, VA, and Jon MacGregor of Arlington, VA; and numerous cousins.
Services were held at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Plis Funeral Home, 33 North St., Marcellus. Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) or to the Hospice of the Fisher Home fisherhome.org/p/donate.
To leave a condolence for the family of Jean please visit plisfuneralhome.com.
