The Rose Garden fondly remembers our friend and co-founder Rae Ann McLanahan
Whether it was singing with Mac, Gail and Allen Weigner in the Nashville Clippers, hosting their annual holiday picking party, or helping to organize seating or a myriad other Rose Garden tasks, Rae Ann McLanahan was the spirit of the Rose Garden. She and Mac particularly enjoyed playing music with their friends The Kennedys whenever they came to play at the Rose Garden. Together they took every opportunity to interact and share music, whether it was on stage at the Rose Garden or back at the Kaufman’s house (if you know, you know) after each show.
I’ll never forget her ebullient spirit, her infectious laugh, her creative ways, her generosity, and the way she would connect with people (at least with me) by grabbing my arm as she laughed along.
We’ll miss you, Rae Ann.
Steve Ide
Below is a video and a few images of Rae Ann from over the years doing what she loved. We’ll miss her dearly.
Rae Ann’s obituary from the Sun Chronicle
Rae Ann (Federici) McLanahan, 74, of North Attleborough, MA, born on January 8, 1952, entered into eternal rest on August 18, 2026.
Rae Ann was born in Wareham, MA, to Barbara (Wordell) Federici and Raymond Federici. Her parents predeceased her. Rae Ann was the cherished wife of the late (2014) Samuel (Mac) McLanahan III. Rae Ann and Mac married in a beautiful Copper Mountain, CO, chapel on Christmas Eve 1996, surrounded by family and friends. Rae Ann and Mac were “two peas in a pod” from the get-go, and unabashedly devoted to one another. They enjoyed adventures together near and far, and spending time with loved ones. Rae Ann embraced Mac’s family from the earliest days, and she was likewise embraced. Rae Ann is survived by her brother David (Nancy) Federici of Norton, MA, and Mac’s children Allison (Chris) McLanahan Mamere of Benicia, CA, Emily McLanahan of Baltimore, MD, Samuel Markell (Jacqueline) McLanahan of San Anselmo, CA, Charles “Chad” (Laura) Markell of Toronto, Canada, Sarah (Erik) McLanahan of Gloucester, MA, and grandchildren Ella, Dixon, and Jasmine McLanahan, Charles “Charlie”, Kate, and Morgan Markell, and Beatrice and Freja Hinderlie McLanahan, and “bonus child”, musician and dancer April Verch.
Rae Ann grew up in Mansfield, MA. She was an athlete and a Girl Scout. She maintained many friendships with her classmates from the class of 1970. She graduated from Bridgewater State University (MA) and earned her master’s degree in Education and Reading from Mercer University in Macon, GA. She was awarded ‘Teacher of the Year’ in her rookie year of teaching. She was a lifelong educator, teaching children and young people of all ages, including college students at Bridgewater State University and Fisher College (MA). Her proudest accomplishment in teaching was at The Children’s Studio in Norton, MA, which she founded and directed for more than 30 years, touching and influencing the lives of hundreds of children.
Rae Ann had a bold laugh, a quick wit, and a beautiful singing voice. A favorite song of hers to sing was, ‘When Fall Comes to New England’, by folk musician Cheryl Wheeler. This fall, Rae Ann will watch from the other side of the sky as the leaves change. Rae Ann had a fondness for tiered maxi skirts that swished at her ankles when she walked, and loved a good pair of delicate, feminine earrings. Rae Ann’s interests and community involvements were many and diverse. In the early 1990s she co-founded, with Mac McLanahan and others, the Rose Garden Coffeehouse music venue in Mansfield, MA, which continues to present. She was one of the first directors (c.1980) of the Un-Common Theatre Company in Foxborough, MA. She was a tennis coach, published author, painter and sketch artist, an avid New England sports fan, and a needle worker and knitter. Some of those close to Rae Ann are fortunate to have been gifted her hand-knitted and so-dubbed, “Knit Pickers” – gloves that cover the palm and wrist but leave fingers free to pluck and strum acoustic strings. About “picking”: Rae Ann and Mac were famous for their annual New Year’s Day Picking-and-Eating party. Hosted for decades at their North Attleborough home, the only guest requirement was to bring holiday leftovers and an appetite for acoustic music into the wee hours. Rae Ann loved good company, nature, and, “enjoying every moment.” She will be greatly missed.
At Rae Ann’s request she will be cremated and buried alongside her husband at Mount Hope Cemetery in North Attleborough, MA. Burial and celebration of life will be private. In lieu of flowers, kindly please donate in her memory, in honor of her late husband, to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284, or via dana-farber.org/gift. Or to the Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA), 505 Eighth Avenue, Suite 1402, New York, NY 10018, or via hdsa.org/donate.
Arrangements under the care of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home, 161 Commonwealth Avenue, Village of Attleboro Falls, North Attleboro, MA.