Megan Brigid McCaffrey's Obituary
Megan Brigid McCaffrey
Megan was born at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles, California.
She always bragged that she was born in Hollywood. After living in Downey and Hollydale, the family moved to Monrovia which is in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. She was only three years old at the time but loved living there because there was a large backyard, a vacant lot to explore with her brother, Patrick, and a beautiful park, close by.
In 1952, her father, also Patrick, was called by the Navy to train recruits for the Korean War, in San Diego. She and her brother, Patrick (nicknamed Rick), were not happy to move, but adapted to life in the city of San Diego. Megan was now in Kindergarten and her family stayed there until moving farther away from the city, two more times, until settling in Winter Gardens, which is in Lakeside, California. She and Rick were much happier there because they were now in the ‘country’ again with views of the mountains and city, below. She was very active at El Capitan High School, singing in the choir and being in various clubs, with lots of friends.
Her brother, Rick, graduated, and went to the University of Michigan. When he came home for the summer in 1965, he talked Megan into moving to Michigan to get a new start. Rick bought a Dodge van in San Diego and drove Megan and her girlfriend to Michigan with all her belongings. There, she graduated from Eastern Michigan, then got the urge to move away from the winter cold, and moved to Honolulu in 1973, with another girlfriend.
Megan felt at home in Hawaii, loved it, and got her Master’s degree at the University of Hawaii. After she graduated, she became a social worker at Queen’s Hospital, where she excelled at helping people by providing emotional support, counseling, and arranging outpatient treatments. In 1992, she received accolades by arranging for a transfer of a heart/lung machine to Kauai because of the damage to the hospital there, from Hurricane Iniki.
In 1997, Megan moved to the beautiful upcountry town of Waimea, on the Big Island, to fulfill a position as social worker for North County Community Hospital. After many years at NHCH, she worked for Hospice of Hawaii in Waimea, then moved to Kohala to continue her long career at Kohala Hospital. There were hundreds of lives and families that she helped to
navigate difficult medical challenges throughout her years of service. Serving her fellow man with a sense of love, integrity and responsibility, she knew she was making a difference, which is what kept her working and empowering her throughout her long serving career.
She shall be missed by her brother, Patrick, her friends, and her many co-workers within the medical community.
Notes for Obituary: Preceded in death by father, Patrick (1981) Mother,
Betty Jane (1996). Survived by brother, Patrick McCaffrey, and wife, Carol, of Rancho Mirage, California. Also surviving cousins, Mike (Sandra) and Dennis Kaill.
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