Megan A. Lally

Megan Antoinette Lally, 30, from Worcester, passed away on Thursday, September 1st, 2011 after a three-and-a-half year fight against breast cancer. She was born in New Bedford, MA on October 9, 1980 to James and Pauline (Lemieux) Lally. Megan, the oldest of two children, and sister Jocelyn (Chicago, IL) were raised in Acushnet, MA. Megan entered Bishop Stang High School, North Dartmouth, MA in 1994 and graduated Valedictorian in 1998. She entered Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in the fall of 1998, and graduated Summa Cum Laude earning a BS degree in Mathematical Sciences in May, 2002. Numerous lifelong friendships were made at each milestone. While studying at WPI, Megan met fellow student and Computer Science major David "Rusty" Gray in 1999. After a lengthy courtship, the two married in Las Vegas, NV on April 12, 2005. It was also during her time at WPI that Megan sought a co-op job opportunity with Stratus Technologies in Maynard, MA where she would ultimately work full time as a Software Engineer for much of the last decade. During a brief hiatus from Stratus, Megan worked towards becoming a financial planner at Ameriprise; however, she realized that Software Engineering was her true vocation and returned to Stratus. In the Winter of 2003, Megan purchased her dream home and enjoyed much time devoted to design, home improvement and gardening activities. With a dedicated craft room and kitchen, her creative hobbies of sewing, knitting, crafting and cooking flourished. Megan and Rusty enjoyed traveling all over the country and world, seeing live music acts like Phish, Ani Difranco and Umphrey's McGee. They also enjoyed brewing and consuming craft beer, cheering for the Boston Red Sox and regularly training for and running in 5k- and half-marathon races. In January, 2009, the couple adopted a pair of cats from the Worcester Animal Shelter. Megan loved Poster and Reba and they brought her much joy. After a breast cancer diagnosis in April of 2008, Megan discovered yet another talent that she excelled at: blogging. http://meganpinkblog.blogspot.com was started to communicate health and treatment progress with her loved ones. Soon people were reading her blog all over the world. Megan's brave and candid story has become a source of inspiration for countless others. In a time when Megan could have easily withdrawn, she let her beautiful sense of humor, creative frankness and descriptive story-telling inform and comfort all. With her keen mind, skilled hands, sharp wit, and loving sensibilities, Megan accomplished more in her thirty short years on Earth than most accomplish in a lifetime. Visiting hours for Megan will be Thursday, September 8 at Mercadante Funeral Home 370 Plantation Street, Worcester from 5-8 p.m. A traditional Catholic Mass will be held for Megan on Friday, September 9th at St. Joseph's Catholic Community in Fairhaven, MA at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Megan's memory may be made to breastcancer.org. To share your thoughts and memories of Megan, please visit her personal guestbook at: mercadantefuneral.com