The son of the legendary neurologist who cared for thousands during his tenure at Carney Hospital before his own life was cut short during the early weeks of the 2020 pandemic outbreak will run the Boston Marathon next week in his late father’s memory.

Andrew Mahoney will run the race to help raise funds for the foundation named as a memorial to Dr. John F.X. Mahoney, MD, who had a special attachment to Dorchester through the hospital and his family’s roots.

“​My mother and father met at Carney. My mother had just started as a nurse and my father was beginning his internship at the hospital,” said Andrew Mahoney, 40. 

He adds: “Both of my grandparents on my mother’s side grew up there. Uphams Corner, St. Brendan’s, and my mother grew up in Mattapan.  I have fond memories of eating in Adams Corner at Gerard’s with my grandparents and great-grandparents.”

The late Dr. Mahoney attended high school in Dorchester studying at Boston College High School before he went on to receive his degree from Boston College and then St. Louis University Medical School.

Dr. Mahoney worked as a neurologist for over 40 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital- Milton, Quincy Medical Center, and Carney, where so many of his patients from Dorchester remember him fondly.

Those closest to John began the John F.X. Mahoney Foundation in 20202, shortly after his death at age 73. The nonprofit charitable organization works to advance neurological care by fostering solutions in medicine and education.

It will be the first Boston Marathon for Andrew, who is a History teacher at Hanover High School and a father of three. His dad ran it 10 times.

“I’m just excited to be a part of the race. I think it’s a privilege to get the chance to run it and then to be able to do so for such a great cause and to honor my dad is really motivating for me and an honor for me,” Andrew told the Reporter. 

The funds raised will support Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital - Milton’s work in providing patient care in the new neurology suite named after Dr. Mahoney. Specifically, donations will help fund the updates and expansion of the hospital’s neurology testing facilities that Dr. Mahoney was instrumental in building. 

Andrew remembers his father as a hero and inspiration.

“I’d go to work with him a lot as a kid and he was friendly with everybody. Not just doctors but every worker in every department,” Andrew said. “The doctor and the worker in the cafeteria were on the same level to him and he just had a lot of humility.”

“I hope that through running the marathon, in the same way, my dad did for me, I can provide a lasting example for my three daughters and a memory of their grandfather that they will have for years to come.”

Donations to the John F.X. Mahoney Foundation can be made at https://www.givengain.com/project/andrew-raising-funds-for-beth-israel-lahey-health-68392