Obituaries

Jane Austin (Ramsay) Key passed away Sept. 25, 2026, at her home in Marblehead. She was 82. She was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, in 1944, the daughter of Anne Austin (Belyea) Ramsay, a descendant of New York Loyalists who settled in New Brunswick after the American Revolution, and Earnest Dougal Ramsay, a Royal Canadian Navy officer who later became an executive with the Steel Company of Canada. After moves to Hamilton, Ontario, and Montreal, the family settled in Westmont, Quebec, where Jane…

Patricia (Smethurst) Perry died peacefully on Saturday Sept. 12, 2026, in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 89. Patricia was the wife of Garland Perry with whom she celebrated 66 years of marriage.  A longtime resident of Marblehead, Patricia was born on Jan. 9, 1937, to the late Thelma (Day) Smethurst and Fred (Gordon) Smethurst. She attended Marblehead schools and graduated Marblehead High School class of 1955. She briefly attended Green Mountain Junior College in Vermont before enrolling in the Mass General School of…

Garland Richard "Chick" Perry died peacefully on April 4, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 95. He was the husband of Patricia (Smethurst) Perry with whom he celebrated 66 years of marriage.  A longtime resident of Marblehead, he was born on May 19, 1931, to the late Matilda and Raymond Perry. He attended Marblehead schools and graduated from Marblehead High School class of 1951.  Shortly after graduation, he enrolled in the US Navy and served during the US-Korean conflict. Upon returning to…

Standley Henry Goodwin, age 88 passed away on Sept. 28 after a short illness. He was the son of Emerson S. Goodwin and Gretta Caswell Goodwin. Standley graduated from Marblehead High School, Class of 1956, and from MIT, Class of 1962 with a degree in aeronautical engineering. He spent his entire career working at Draper Labs in Cambridge. During his retirement, he was an active member and volunteer at the Marblehead Museum, both as a docent and researcher of Marblehead history. He was also active…

Mary Pauline (Kelley) Gillis, age 90, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. She was the loving wife, and best friend of the late Dexter C. Gillis with whom she shared over 52 years of marriage. The daughter of the late John Leo Kelley, Jr. and Sarah (Crowell) Kelley, Mary was born and raised in Marblehead.  She graduated from St. Mary's High School, Lynn, with the Class of 1955.  After staying home to raise her children, she later enjoyed working at Camilla's Den Clothing in Marblehead and…

Marlys (Sather) Russell of Marblehead, a devoted mother and grandmother and a longtime executive director of Camp Fire of the North Shore, died on Monday, Sept. 21. She was 83. A graduate of Yankton High School in Yankton, South Dakota, and Augustana College in Sioux Falls, she began her career as a social worker in Austin, Minnesota. But she soon embarked on a life-changing adventure, moving cross-country to Boston with two friends on a lark, with no job and no intention to settle down for…

Justin Werner Mckenney, 42, of Sarasota, Florida, formerly of Marblehead, passed away suddenly on Sept. 9. He was born July 24, 1984. Justin was a 2004 graduate of Marblehead High School and went on to Alfred University in New York, where he studied art and business. A gifted, passionate artist, Justin had a love for glass blowing and created extraordinary work, including the beautiful glass buoys he designed. He and his wife launched the pottery line, Vegetabowls, which Oprah Magazine named as one of her…

Catherine Shawn (Mulry) Melanson, 87, of Marblehead, passed away on Sept. 10, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family. Catherine was born in Worcester, the daughter of the late Joseph John Mulry and Evelyn Grundy Mulry. She later made her home in Marblehead, where she raised her family and built a life centered around the people she loved most.  Catherine had a lifelong appreciation for creativity and art. She majored in art in college and began her career as an artist and art teacher.…

Pamela (Diggett) (Dutton) Foye, age 83, died Saturday, Sept. 12, following a brief illness with metastatic cancer, surrounded by family and friends at the Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers. Born in Acushnet on Aug. 2, 1943, she was the only child of Arthur A. and Violette R. (Desrosiers) Diggett. Ms. Foye is the former wife of the late Daniel Foye of Marblehead with whom she had one child, a daughter, Meghann E. Foye of Marblehead, a travel editor, novelist and freelance writer. She was…