Marcia F. Decatur, 83, Former Chairwoman of Mary Alley Hospital Board

Obituary from Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home.

Marcia Finn Decatur of Marblehead, 83, passed away peacefully at home on Aug. 12, 2014. Born in 1931, she was one of eight children of James A. and Kathleen Macy Finn of Ardsley-on-Hudson, N.Y. and Southport, Conn. Mrs. Decatur was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Conn. and graduated with a degree in nursing from St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport.

In 1956 she married Stephen Decatur of Garden City, N.Y. She and her husband moved immediately to Marblehead where she remained until her death. As her four children grew up, Mrs. Decatur reassumed her positions as a nursing administrator, being Acting Director of Nurses at the Shaughnessy-Kaplan Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem and Director of Nurses at several nursing homes in the Boston area.

She was Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees of the Mary A. Alley Hospital in Marblehead, and was a volunteer at many health-related events and causes, as well as volunteering for several Marblehead cultural organizations, including the Driftwood Garden Club and the Marblehead Arts Association.

Marcia, known to many as “Muffin” was an accomplished sailor: in Southport she raced small boats on Long Island Sound, later cruising with her husband along the entire East Coast, many of the Great Lakes, and waterways of Canada. She was a great reader of yachting, birding and gardening subjects as well.

As a descendant of John Howland, she was a lifetime member of the Massachusetts Mayflower Society and The Pilgrim John Howland Society. Howland later married Elizabeth Tilley who had also arrived aboard the Mayflower. Mrs. Decatur was also descended from Thomas Macy, a founder of Nantucket, and a collateral descendant of R. H. Macy, founder of the department store. Her mother was a noted artist and etcher whose prints are in many collections throughout the United States.

She is survived by her husband Stephen and children; Stephen Decatur Jr. and his wife Carolyn of South Hamilton; Mary (Molly) Precopio and her husband John of South Kingston, R.I.; Thomas Macy Decatur and his wife Rhoda of Shrewsbury and James Rogers Decatur and his wife Rebecca of Bethel, Conn.; and eight grandchildren.

A private graveside service was held in Waterside Cemetery, Marblehead. A celebration of life will be held in the coming months.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marcia’s name to the Audubon Society at www.massaudubon.org. Arrangements by the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home, Marblehead.