Mary Wirkkala

Mary Wirkkala GOSHEN — Mary Morton Campbell Wirkkala of Goshen, NH passed away at home on October 6, 2022 surrounded by her husband John, sister Elizabeth, and daughters Alice and Laura. Mary was born on October 18, 1936 and grew up in the towns of Watertown and Harvard in Massachusetts. She graduated from Radcliffe and Harvard Colleges in 1958 with an honors degree in mathematics. Her goal of a career as a computer programmer was put on hold for two years while she and her first husband lived in Colorado Springs. In a time and place where newspaper want ads were listed separately for “Female” and “Male”, she was told that only men could be hired as computer programmers. However, in 1960, when she returned to Massachusetts, she secured an ideal job working on NASA’s early space program at the Harvard-Smithsonian Observatory in Cambridge. She quickly rose to a lead programmer position, working on a project to create a digital star catalog for use in satellite tracking and projects to adjust in-flight settings and positioning of telescopes on “Orbiting Astronomical Observatories”. When her second daughter was born in 1965, Mary took a three-year career break to be a stay-at-home mom. When she returned to the workforce after a divorce, she switched her interest to educational research and spent several years evaluating federally funded programs in areas such as early childhood education and special education, primarily in the Boston school system. Her interest in computers and programming soon lured her to a technology position at GCA Corporation in Bedford, Massachusetts, where she managed the collection and analysis of data retrieved from the polluted Love Canal site in New York. Her final decades of work were spent in the fast-paced and enjoyable field of technical documentation as a writer and manager for Oracle corporation and other companies that specialized in data base systems and applications. Mary married the love of her life, John Wirkkala, on January 1, 1986, and the couple settled in Goshen, New Hampshire, near John’s family in Lempster. Mary and John lovingly restored the house and grounds of their home. In the years after her retirement in 1999, Mary assisted John in his antiques business, enjoyed family time, gardening, outdoor recreation, and needlework. She took particular pleasure in designing and creating baby blankets for her grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and great-grand-nieces and nephews. She also enjoyed working with the Goshen Historical Society as it archived its large collection of materials. Those who got to know Mary remember her empathy above all. Mary loved and cared about the earth and all its wild creatures. She treasured the animals closest to her heart, her beloved companion dogs and cats. Mary was a kind and caring person with deep and lasting friendships, a loving extended family, and a gift for touching others with an open heart and a warm smile. Mary is survived by her husband, John C. Wirkkala of Goshen; her daughter Alice Fackre and Alice’s husband Kirk Fackre of Essex, Massachusetts; her daughter Laura Campbell of Tamworth, New Hampshire; her five grandchildren, Charlotte, Campbell, and Casey Fackre, and Sandy and Corey Trask; her sister Elizabeth Ainsley Campbell and Elizabeth’s partner Michael Immerso of Lunenburg, Massachusetts; her two brothers-in-law and their wives, Glenn and Debbie Wirkkala of Lempster, New Hampshire, and Kirt and Ellie Wirkkala of Lempster, New Hampshire; and many dear nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and nephews, and great-grand-nieces and nephews. She was pre-deceased by her sister Susan Brownsberger and Susan’s husband Carl Brownsberger of Belmont, Massachusetts. A private memorial service will be held in the spring. Donations in Mary’s memory may be made to the Goshen Historical Society, P.O. Box 57, Goshen, New Hampshire, 03752. To view an online memorial and photo gallery, visit www.weremember.com. The url is https://www.weremember.com/mary-wirkkala/6s6n/memories. The family welcomes you to share your own remembrances and revisit, as we will be adding more memories and photos in the coming days and weeks.