Shelley W McKay

My beautiful mother Shelley W. McKay, a longtime resident of Tenafly, NJ, passed away on Monday, October 9, 2023 after a brief illness. Daughter of the late Donald J. Winfield and Isabel Shelly Winfield, Shelley was born in New York City and grew up in Tenafly, NJ. She was predeceased by her beloved brother Donald Winfield of Warwick, RI. She attended nursing school at Englewood Hospital and then went on to receive her Bachelor of Science from Columbia University and an MPA from New York University. After spending several years working as a nurse at Tenafly Pediatrics, in 1989, she accepted her dream job at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Over the next 27 years at MSKCC, she rose to be Nurse Leader of M9, dedicated to caring for children, teens, and young adults with cancer and immune deficiencies. She adored her work and was widely known as a skilled and kind mentor, advocate, and manager of generations of women and men who saw pediatric oncology nursing as their calling. In 1996 she was the recipient of the Samuel and May Rudin Nursing Award for Excellence in Leadership in recognition of her outstanding leadership abilities and commitment to nursing excellence. She was at her happiest spending time in her beautiful garden. She also loved animals, especially her late dog Orlando and cat Slippers, being at the family lakehouse in the Adirondack Mountains, and Baltimore crab cakes. She also enjoyed traveling and spending time with dear friends and family. More recently, she had become well-known in her inner circle as being a whiz at Wordle and crossword puzzles. She is survived by her devoted daughter Heather Shelley McKay, her sister-in-law Deb Winfield, nieces Katherine, Laura, Eleanor, and Stephanie, numerous cousins, including Ruth, Brigitte, Phyllis, Larry, Anne, Thomas, Tommy, Michelle, Grant, Deb, Kevin, Alicia, Scott, Keith, and Karen, and many special and adoring friends from Tenafly and MSKCC. Her kindness, warmth, and laughter will be dearly missed. A memorial service celebrating and remembering Shelley’s life will be held at Barrett Leber Funeral Home, 148 Dean Dr., Tenafly, NJ 07670 on Sunday, November 5 from 12:00-2:00 pm. Donations may be made in her honor to the Bergen County Animal Shelter and Adoption Center (https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/animal-shelter-adoption-center) or the Adirondack Council (https://donate.adirondackcouncil.org/).