Constance M. Fanning

Portland - Constance M. Fanning M.D. died peacefully in her sleep on June 1, 2017 after a long illness. Born and raised in Dublin, she was educated at a Gaelic-speaking convent school before entering medical school at age 17 at the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians in Ireland, from which she graduated in 1954. After completing a residency in anesthesiology she moved with her husband, Joseph Fanning, also a physician, to the United States in 1959 and worked as a generalist first in Portland, Maine and subsequently at a hospital near Boston, MA. She then retired for 12 years to raise four children, living in Providence, RI and, later, the Portland area. In her mid-forties Constance re-entered medicine, undertaking a residency in psychiatry at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she was named chief resident in 1978 and later joined the hospital staff as an attending psychiatrist. She left Maine Medical Center to pursue a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry in 1986-88 at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in the Bronx. After her divorce, she moved to the VA Hospital in Togus, Maine where she helped establish the state's first subdivision in geriatric psychiatry. She often said she found her work at the VA hospital to be her most rewarding professional experience. In retirement she moved for several years to Washington D.C. where she developed a passion for water-color painting, studying with several well-known artists before relocating one final time to Maine. She continued to be an avid world traveller. She loved Ireland and her family, and doted on her grandchildren. She was predeceased by her eldest son David and is survived by her daughter Deirdre (Peter), son John (Pensri), daughter Fiona and daughter-in-law Katie, four grandchildren and several nieces and nephews. The family will be receive relatives and friends on Thursday, June 8 from 12pm-1:30pm at The Cumberland Club, 116 High Street, Portland. Burial will be private. Arrangements are under the direction of the Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland. The family would also like to thank the dedicated nursing staff at the Osher Inn and the Hoffman Center of The Cedars for caring so compassionately for Constance over the last year of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made in Constance's name to The Cedars 630 Ocean Avenue, Portland, ME 04103