Massage Therapist civic volunteer, and dog lover--Mary brings Healing Touch to community.

Notable: Mary Duffy, owner and operator of Quiet Reflections Therapeutic Massage, won Saranac Lake’s 2009 Winter Carnival Service Award. Nationally certified in therapeutic massage and bodywork, Duffy uses her talent to bring comfort and relaxation to others. She works part time in the oncology and hematology units at Adirondack Medical Center, and volunteers for Hospice, massaging patients and caregivers. Duffy was nominated as a Laudable Lady by her colleague Dan Sullivan, licensed massage therapist and owner of Adirondack Massage Cruise. “She’s somebody who has a lot of grace. She has wisdom, and she’s a great person,” Sullivan said.

Volunteer Work:
Duffy is a member of the Adirondack High Peaks Dog Training Club and a member of the Women’s Civic Chamber. As part of the Women’s College Scholarship club, she helps to raise money for scholarships given to high school seniors and continuing education students in the Saranac Lake area.

Duffy has been a character at Saranac Lake’s winter carnival for 20 years. “You dress up in a costume and go to the parade and entertain children for the duration of the carnival,” she said. Although she must keep her character’s identity secret, she insists that she plays a very popular character. She also is a member of Holiday Helpers, which organizes and distributes gifts to children and families in need.

Age: 58

Mary's Words to Live By:
“Keep growing, keep dreaming.”

Favorite Type of Massage:
“I like a nice relaxing Swedish massage,” Duffy said.

Happiest when…
Duffy is happiest when she is working with people. “It’s a very, very rewarding career for me,” she said. Future Plans: “I’ve gotten down to where I want to be and am doing what I want to do as far as my massage,” she said. She plans to continue working on building her business and learning different types of massages. “Learning is always ongoing,” she said.

Hands-On:
Duffy was a secretary at Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake when she read about the massage program at North Country Community College. “It really resonated with me, and I said, ‘I want to try that,’” she said. At the age of 50, she went back to school. “It was kind of scary because I was older and there was a lot of science and math,” Duffy said. “It was very frightening and very difficult, but it’s so rewarding, and I’m where I want to be, and I’m extremely happy in what I’m doing.”

Duffy started Quiet Reflections Therapeutic Massage, and has now been in business for five years. She offers Swedish massages and foot therapy massages and recently became a licensed Healing Touch practitioner. “Healing Touch is energy based,” she described. According to Duffy, “It uses a collection of energy-based treatment techniques to assess and treat the human energy system, thus affecting physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and healing. These non-invasive techniques utilize the hands to clear, energize, and balance the human and environmental energy fields. It is based on a heart-centered caring relationship in which the practitioner and client come together energetically to facilitate the client’s health and healing.”

Duffy attended Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York City and Benedictine Hospital in Kingston for cancer massage studies. She volunteered at Adirondack Medical Center while going to school, and after she became licensed she started working there part time. She now works at the hospital a couple of hours a week, massaging those who are receiving treatments. Duffy also works for High Peaks Hospice and Palliative Care.

“I love helping people and making people feel better,” she said. Happy to be able to give comfort to those who are terminally ill, she finds the volunteer work very rewarding. She also aids the caregivers, whose work can be physically demanding. Duffy explained that a gentle chair massage, hand or foot massage, can bring relief to those under stress.

Passions:
“I love to walk,” she said. This past year Duffy walked in the Lake Placid Marathon, walking a half marathon, which is 13.1 miles. She plans on walking the marathon again this year. She also enjoys biking, snowshoeing, and reading, especially mystery books.

Home and Family:
Born in Saranac Lake, Duffy lives in Lake Clear, and has an older sister, Ruth Douglass. She and her husband Robert, “Bob,” have been married for seven and a half years. “I met my husband in kindergarten,” Duffy explained. “We grew up in the same neighborhood. We didn’t start dating until we were well into our 40s,” she said. They have three dogs; Two beagles, Booker T. and Buddy Boy, and an Australian Sheppard named Shiloh.

Laudable Ladies Mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers, friends, or caregivers; women who make a difference in the lives of others and deserve to be celebrated. Everyone knows at least one local praiseworthy woman—say thanks by nominating her as one of Jill’s Laudable Ladies. Send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it telling us who she is and why she’s commendable.

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