Townshend, Vt. - Father Francis Xavier McMahon, S.S.E., died Sept. 15, 2019, in Townshend, Vt. Father McMahon was born in Bronx, N.Y. May 18, 1925, the son of Francis Patrick McMahon and Teresa McCrea McMahon.
After service in the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 to 1945 he attended Saint Michael's College, Winooski Park, Vt., graduating in 1949. He professed his first vows in the Society of Saint Edmund Oct. 20, 1950, and was ordained to the priesthood June 5, 1954. Father McMahon's assignments in the Society of Saint Edmund were as Secretary to the Superior General (1954-1955); Vocations Director (1954-1958), including two years in Selma, Ala. (1956-1958); Master of Novices in Mystic (1958-1965); Regional Superior and Pastor, Saint Edmund of Canterbury Parish, Whitton, Twickenham, England (1965-1973); Superior (1974-1975) and Director of Novices (1974-1976) at Saint Edmund's Novitiate, Mystic; Pastor of Saint Thomas More Parish, North Stonington (1976-1992); Parochial Vicar at Sacred Heart Parish, Groton (1992-2001); in residence at Saint Michael's Parish, Brattleboro, Vt. (2001-2006), where he was an active member of the Knights of Columbus; at Our Lady of Mercy Parish and West River Missions, Putney, Vt. (2006-2014); and at Valley Cares Assisted Living Facility, Townshend, Vt. (2014-2019).
In addition to his brothers in the Society of Saint Edmund Father McMahon leaves two nieces, Gene-Mary Kenny and Donna Pollack; a nephew William J. Lessard; several great and great-great nieces and nephews; and devoted friends, Thomas W. Costello, Esq. and Patricia St. Peter. He was predeceased by his parents; and by two sisters, Genevieve T. Kenny and Patricia Lessard.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, preceded by visitation from 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel of Saint Michael the Archangel, Saint Michael's College, One Winooski Park, Colchester, Vermont. Followed by burial in the Edmundite plot in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Swanton, Vermont.