Mabel Champney McCarthy died peacefully of natural causes on Sept. 19 at the Windemere Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where she took up residence three weeks ago. She was 92.

Mabel, better known to her family in her younger years as Chickie and more recently as Grammy, was born in Natick on Oct. 9, 1924. Orphaned by her mom and dad by the age of 10, she was raised by her eldest sister, Agnes, who had six children of her own.

While working as a waitress, Mabel put herself through Framingham State College, earning a bachelor’s degree in teaching. After graduation, sister Agnes told Chickie of a wonderful little island off Cape Cod where she may be able to find a job as a new teacher.

Upon moving to Martha’s Vineyard, Mabel quickly secured a position at the Oak Bluffs Elementary School. It was there she met another teacher, Daniel G. McCarthy. Legend had it that Dan, while courting young Mabel, would leave sweet messages on her chalkboard. Thus, the lovebirds were married.

Hearing of a job opportunity from a childhood friend, Dan moved his new bride back to his hometown of Springfield to live with his parents. Mabel soon gave birth to their first child, Margaret (Pegi) Ann. However, they were unable to escape the lure of the Vineyard, so the young family moved back to the Island, where they went on to have four more children.

After having her third child, Mary Kay, Mabel was pulled back into the classroom when her son Michael’s second grade class was in need of a teacher. She continued to teach grade two at the Oak Bluffs school before becoming the reading and language arts specialist at Tisbury school until her retirement in 1984. In her tenure at Tisbury, Mabel, joined by some of her colleagues, became a pioneer in inclusion education when she helped to mainstream a deaf child into regular education classes. She coauthored a book with the student’s grandmother, Barbara Dow, about their experiences. Though Mainstreaming Jill never hit the New York Times bestseller list, the book went on to be used by other educators with similar challenges of mainstreaming children with disabilities into the regular education setting.

After retiring from teaching, she turned one of her passions, as a voracious reader, into a second profession. She became the head librarian of the Oak Bluffs library, which was then located at the end of her own street, Penacook avenue. She was lauded for expanding the old facility and increasing involvement of children in the library by building a more extensive children’s wing and increasing print resources, programming and technology.

In addition to being a dedicated member of the Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church, located across the street from her home, Mabel also participated actively with her best friends in the Ogkeshkuppe Homemakers’ Club of Oak Bluffs. The two main goals of the club were community service and continuing education. One major project was the reprinting of Henry Franklin Norton’s book, Martha’s Vineyard, History, Stories and Legends on June 1, 1976, which served as a significant contribution to Island history and the Oak Bluffs Bicentennial observances. They donated funds from the book to various needy individuals and causes including the Red Cross, March of Dimes and the Red Stocking Fund. The group also took much pride in their project of restoring and rededicating the Consecrated Tree in Hartford Park, Oak Bluffs.

The club continued to be a social outlet for her until recently, with some of the newer members being the children of former homemakers. She was the last living member of this group, which included: Alice Campos, Alice Coutinho, Francis Coutinho, Margaret Downs, Mildred deBettencourt, Marjorie Leonard, Edith Morris, Estelle Surprenant and Mary Thomas.

For most of her life, she was an avid traveler, mostly accompanied by her children, sisters, and nieces. She traveled on many cruises and tours throughout the United States and to many countries in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central America. She also followed all her children’s athletic pursuits throughout high school and college. She was extremely proud of the naming of the high school football field in honor of her husband Daniel G. McCarthy, the first football coach at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

In her later years, you could always find her on the porch of her home on Penacook avenue, surrounded by family, neighbors and friends. Due to the wonderful elderly services of Martha’s Vineyard, Meals on Wheels, many dedicated doctors, Gloria DeBettencourt, Denise Lopes, Danielle Shea, Rachel Shea, Kate Collins, Thenzel Thomas, Laura Hayden, Stephanie Devine, Ashley Tarr, and her dedicated loved ones, Mabel lived out her days on her own terms in her home of over 50 years.

Known to many as the Last of the Mohicans, Mabel was predeceased by her husband, Daniel G.; her daughter Pegi Nicholson and her husband, William J. Nicholson 3rd; all of her siblings, brother Louis and sisters Agnes, Alice, Doris, Helen and Irene; many of her beloved nephews and nieces; all of the original Homemakers; and several of her best friends.

Grammy is survived by two sons, Michael McCarthy and his wife, Susan, of Edgartown and Mark McCarthy and his wife, Tina, of Oak Bluffs; two daughters, Mary and her husband, Russ MacDonald of Oak Bluffs and Tricia and her husband, Ahmed Bennane, of Piscataway, N.J.; her grandchildren, Will and wife Jennifer, Caleb and wife Melissa, Meghan, Jared, Jesse and wife Megan, Rebecca and husband Lawrence, Ryan and wife Allecia, Eric, Michael and fiancée Hannah, Kelsey and fiancé David, Taylor, Kenny and wife Nicole, Evan, Yasin and Ayman; eight great-grandchildren, Wyatt, William, Jayda, Jaelyn, Noah, Maddie, Isla and Liam; many step-grandchildren; several devoted nephews and nieces; and numerous caring neighbors and friends.

The family extends their sincere gratitude to the caring staff of Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard and Windemere, especially Mabel’s niece Penny Kathy Morrow, for making her final days so peaceful and comfortable.

A viewing will be held Friday, Sept. 22 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Chapman Cole, and Gleason Funeral Home in Oak Bluffs. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 10 a.m. at the Our Lady Star of the Sea Church on Massasoit avenue in Oak Bluffs with Father Michael Nagle officiating. Interment will immediately follow in the family plot at the Sacred Heart Cemetery on Vineyard avenue in Oak Bluffs.

In lieu of flowers, those who so desire may make memorial donations in memory of Mabel to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard, P.O. Box 1748, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, or the Library Friends of Oak Bluffs, Inc., P.O. Box 1421, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557.