WESTBROOK – Theresa Ann Marie Pelletier MacKay, 72, passed away Dec. 22, 2020, at home with her family beside her. Theresa was born in Portland, Maine, on May 28, 1948, and was the daughter of the late Frederick and Joan Pelletier. Theresa attended local schools and graduated from Cathedral High School. She once said that you did not want to make the nuns angry because they were scary sometimes. The sisters gave her one of her greatest gifts: her faith, which carried her through when we said the Lord’s Prayer together three times, to the last minute when she joined the angels. Theresa went on to attend Southern Maine Vocational Technical Institute, where she received an associate degree in culinary arts. She was in the first class that accepted female students. Being an achiever, Theresa succeeded in winning 1st place in the state baking contest for her cake. Of course, this led to a plethora of cake requests from family members. Later on, it was requests for Grammy cakes that never seemed to stop. Theresa met her future husband, Rod MacKay, when she was 14, and Rod was 16. It seemed that the boy she was seeing at the time was Rod’s best friend. Whenever Theresa and her boyfriend had an argument, Rod was called in to patch things up.Rod’s family moved to California where he later enlisted in the Army and ended up in Massachusetts. Rod came back to Maine to see Theresa as often as he could. On one occasion when Rod was leaving, he told Joan, Theresa’s mother, that he was going to marry Theresa. Joan started crying and went inside and asked Theresa why she hadn’t told her she was getting married. Theresa didn’t know what she was talking about. She then said she didn’t even like him (Rod). Rod continued traveling between Maine and California until he deployed to Vietnam. Although deployed for three years, he continued to visit Maine and upon his last return from Vietnam, Rod and Theresa became engaged. The two were married on July 25, 1970, and celebrated 50 years together on July 25, 2020, in Boothbay Harbor. Theresa and Rod moved to California and then later to Beaumont, Texas, where she gave birth to Heather Michele MacKay on Dec. 5, 1973. Moving back to Maine, she welcomed another beautiful daughter, Bethany-Ann MacKay on July 6, 1975. These two precious girls were the light of her life and she always laughed when talking about the kids running away to Grampa John and Grace Feeney. As the girls got older, they collaborated with Kera Brown, their neighbor, to form a “girls’” group against the boys in the neighborhood. It seemed that whenever there was an issue, Rod would take the girls’ side of the story. The more the girls talked, the more Rod was ready to read/speak the Riot Act to the boys. Theresa was always watching and listening, often telling Rod that it was not always necessarily, as it seemed. Later on, after Rod dissected what the boys had said and done, he would find that Theresa was right. As always, again. She had a way of seeing things that Rod could only wish he was able to see and understand.Theresa’s heart was larger than anything. Not only would she be taking care of the children, but when Rod and his crew had to work late, regardless of the location, Theresa would show up with food for the entire crew and always made sure to send extra pastries. As the oldest of five children, Theresa started taking care of her siblings’ children in order to let them work. Her nephews, Troy, Sean, Ryan and Patrick, and nieces, Jessica and Brianna, have so many memories from all the years of nurturing and laughing together. Theresa started taking care of her granddaughter, Abigail Lynne, when Abi was only 3-months old. Theresa had recently had foot surgery and could not put weight on her foot but still managed to take care of Abi. Theresa watched her grandchildren for many years and the family bonds created something impossible to break. Isaac was the teaser and always hugging Grammy. Theresa was so proud of his growing musical talent and enrollment in college to pursue his musical dreams. Hayleigh’s acting performances cheered Theresa to no end, and she was so proud of Hayleigh when, inspired by Abby Sciuto of NCIS, she was accepted by Mercyhurst University to study forensic science. Daniel went into the Coast Guard and when Theresa stood beside him at his graduation, she just loved her big kid. Abigail was her first grandchild. Good girl, bad girl, but always her girl. Whether at Abi’s soccer games, talking on the phone, reading papers from Abi’s college or just having talks about “stuff,” the two had always been in touch. Smart, kind, considerate to a fault, compassionate beyond reason, Theresa personifies “A good and faithful person.” Theresa leaves a void behind that seems impossible to fill until you start thinking of her laugh, which always gave Rod such a warm feeling and smile. Theresa’s smile always seemed to light up the area around her and her calmness when something was wrong was like nothing else. She could always seem to find a solution. Theresa had a way to see things clearly that helped us all through tough times. She will forever be the base rock of our family and we know she will be watching over us from above, where she is now talking with her parents, Joan and Fred, as well as her grandparents, Gracie and John. When Theresa’s brother Fred arrived at Theresa’s home after hearing of her passing, he said that it was overcast around the area except for a blue sky over his sister’s home. In that moment, we knew that Theresa was already watching over us from God’s garden. Our family – Theresa, Rod, Heather, Ryan, Bethany, Oliver, Abigail, Isaac, Daniel, Hayleigh and Maya – know that love and family are always and forever. Theresa is survived by her husband of 50 years, Rod MacKay of Westbrook, her daughters, Heather MacKay and her partner Ryan Maloney of Sebago and Bethany MacKay and her partner Oliver Vanhise of Raymond, her grandchildren, Abigail Lynne Davis and Isaac Purinton of Sebago, Hayleigh Davis of Raymond, and Daniel Davis who is currently serving in the Coast Guard. And also her siblings Frederick J. Pelletier of Raymond, Mrs. Timothy (Michele) Kane of Cape Elizabeth, Mrs. Peter (Dawn) Doane of Medford, N.J., and Ms. Marygrace Pelletier and fiancé James Elliot of Windham. Theresa is also survived by her uncles, James Feeney of Hebron and John Feeney of Oregon as well as cousins, Pamela, Debbie, Dan, James Jr., Mary and John Jollota, Becky and nephews, Christian, Michael and nieces, Laurie, Sonya and Chelsea. Not to be forgotten is Aunt Theresa, AKA Theresa, and John Turner of Westbrook. Aunt Theresa was more sister than aunt, as she was a best friend. Theresa is also survived by her sister-in-law, Shari Kosmerl of New York, as well as nephew, Johnathan and Caroline Murray and children Leo and Victoria and nephew Malcolm Murray of New York City. Many visits and phone calls were enjoyed by all and memories made and love shared not to be forgotten. As Rod recalls, Shari and Theresa hoisted quite a few as Rod’s buddy Mike and him sang the ballad of the Green Berets in a Massachusetts restaurant.A celebration of life will be held in the spring when it is warmer. Theresa loved the snow but was always chilled and would put on a jacket. She will appreciate the warmer weather. The date will be published later. Our thanks to the Jones, Rich & Barnes Funeral Home for the dignity and respect shown to our Theresa. Thank you. And to Father Mooreshead in whose church our children grew up and were altar servers. To share your condolences, photos, or to view Theresa’s tribute page, please visit http://www.jonesrichandbarnes.com.

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