Margaret R. Brady

Margaret R. Brady, 80, a lifelong resident of the Upper Highlands, a devout communicant of Saint Margaret Church, and a well-known member of the Lowell educational community, died Wednesday, June 20th, at Saints Medical Center.
Born in Lowell, November 12, 1931, the daughter of the late Charles H. and the late Catherine E. (Tully) Brady, she attended Lowell schools and graduated from the Academy of Notre Dame in Tyngsboro. She continued her education, earning both a Bachelor’s degree from Lowell State Teachers College and a Master’s in Education from Fitchburg State Teachers College.
Margaret began her teaching career in Ipswich, Billerica, and California before returning to her hometown of Lowell, where she taught for over 35 years. She was instrumental in establishing the first teachers’ union and was the first president of the Lowell Teachers’ Organization.
Margaret retired from the Lowell School Department after many years as the teaching-principal of the Pine Street School. Upon her retirement, the school was renamed the Margaret R. Brady School in recognition of her extraordinary dedication to the children of Lowell.
Apart from her professional life, Margaret dedicated her life to the care of her elderly mother, her aunts, and her uncle in their later years.
A lifelong lover of animals, Margaret was frequently seen walking her dog throughout the Upper Highlands in times past. In more recent years, she was known to take in a number of stray cats, giving them a loving home.
Margaret is survived by a sister, Mary Brady Manning, of Riverside, CA, a sister-in-law, Margaret Brady Martin of Lawrence, MA, as well as many loving nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and many cousins. She also leaves her beloved cats, Hercules and Lady Bug and her longtime friend and colleague, Monique Healy.
She was the sister of the late Charles B. Brady and the late Joseph F. Brady.
The family wishes to especially thank the doctors and nurses of the Saints Medical Center Emergency Room and ICU for their skilled and compassionate medical care.