Ann Mary McGranaghan McLaughlin of Manchester, NH died peacefully on April 30, 2026 of Alzheimer’s disease not a half mile from where she was born on September 26, 1943. But in between… what a life!

Daughter of Police Chief Francis McGranaghan and Elliot Hospital nurse Flora Delisle McGranaghan, she grew up playing football and baseball, scraping her knees and mischievously tomboying about the neighborhood with her four siblings on Mammoth Road. The first woman to graduate from Saint Anselm’s College with a Bachelor of Arts in biology, she was called to serve, volunteering in the Peace Corps in Chiquinquira, Colombia before returning to the states to work in the Head Start program—the JFK double-header.

She taught elementary school in Raymond while building a home in Manchester with husband Paul and son Matthew. Her life was motion: crafting furniture, chainsawing lumber and savoring the rhythmic stewardship of weeding her garden. With Carolee Mesmer, she opened Cambridge BookStop, taking great pride in inviting venerated authors to book signings. And she made time to drink in nature on countless walks, hikes and camping trips.

She was a prolific traveler, drawn to archeology, visiting Tikal, Machu Picchu, Giza and Angkor Wat, among dozens of ancient sites all over the world. Her favorite was Palenque, the mystical Mayan city in the verdant Mexican hills. She generously shared her wanderlust, leading expeditions with family and friends, igniting in them a love of travel. On every return, Kodachrome slide shows beguiled an ever wider circle into her adventures.

She loved fully—travel companions, Peace Corps comrades, all the McGranaghan and Cawley nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, grand-nephews and kith, wine night confidants, and of course her family. Despite Alzheimer’s, she never forgot how to love, enveloping everyone including caregivers in hugs, kisses on the cheek, and reminders how much she loved them. And her laughter remained infectious—explosively broad, warm and easily given.

Ann is survived by her close friends Carolee, Larry and Mary, goddaughter Irina, brother Charles, an exuberance of nieces and nephews, son Matthew, his wife Kay, and the lights of her later years - grandsons Teo, Shea and Miles. She joins her husband Paul, dear friends Annie and Stan and siblings Frank, James and Lucille on her next great adventure.

There will be a private wake for family with a broader celebration of life planned for the summer, dates TBD. To express interest in attending that event please email annmclaughlincelebrationoflife@gmail.com

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to Friends of Colombia at https://friendsofcolombia.org/,