Nuala Maguire

Nuala Margaret Madeline Stanley O’Connor Maguire, 84, loved with her entire being. If it was important to you, it mattered to her, and she sought to help you on your path, be it through her insanely expansive network, her belief and support, or her prayers. Dementia claimed her mind, but it never ruled her heart.

She loved good shoes, purses, stylish clothes, and hats. That may have rubbed off on her only daughter. She also loved and valued connection with others, and if you knew her, you understood how important you were to her.

The daughter of an Olympic athlete, Nuala excelled at field hockey, and loved hiking with her beloved Fran and swimming in the ocean when it was so cold that her fur-clad mother watched her from the Irish shore.

During her life in Indianapolis she was active in the St. Mark parish community and sang in the choir. When she moved to Minneapolis in 2016, she was a lector at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Robbinsdale.

Survived by her expansive family who will forever be grateful: her children Cathal (Suzy), Emer (Mike), Dónal (Erin) and Cormac (Jen); their father Séan (Maris); stepchildren Jim (Jane), Elaine (Randy), and Joe (Rita); siblings Colm and Claire;  23 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. In Hebrew, life is associated with the number 18:  these numbers speak of her life.

She is preceded in death by her parents Laurence and Mary Stanley, her siblings Cyril and Joan, her beloved nephew Peter McDonnell, and her dear husband Francis Maguire.

We especially want to thank the Copperfield Hill community, the Memory Care staff and nurses, Twin Cities Physicians, Interim Healthcare Hospice and retired Health Partners LPN Yi Zangh who partnered with us on this path with kindness, compassion, guidance and comfort. You are all angels.

A shiva minyan was held at Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, MN, February 12.

A Memorial Service will be held  Saturday, March 18 at 1 PM at O’Riley-Branson Funeral Service and Crematory, 6107 S. East Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227, (beside St. Mark Catholic Church). A Memorial Gathering will be held at 12 pm before the service, and interment will follow the service.

Nuala did not grow up during a time when mental illness was treated competently and effectively, and viewed as one aspect of self rather than a defining defect. With that in mind, the family asks that tributes be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and St. Mark Catholic Church (Indianapolis, IN).