Mary Washington

Mary was born on February 14, 1927, Valentine’s Day, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to the late Rusha and Blanche Reid. Mary was the fifth eldest of nine children born from this union. Mary attended the Philadelphia Public School System, graduating from John Bartam High School. On July 9, 1949, she married the love of her life, John Roy Washington, Sr. until his passing in 2005. From this bond, two children were born, John Roy Washington, Jr. and Ivy Melanie Washington.

Later in her adult life, Mary furthered her education by attending and graduating from Burlington County College. Afterwards, she entered Trenton State College (now known as The College of New Jersey), where she earned her B.S. in Accounting. For several years, Mary worked in the healthcare industry, until she transitioned to local government service, where she worked for the Township of Burlington as a tax clerk, ultimately retiring in May 1991 as the Township’s tax collector.

Mary truly lived life to the fullest through the simple pleasures - playing tennis, becoming a gym enthusiast, knitting, cooking meals for the family, baking wonderful pastries, avidly enjoying Western shows, admiring music, and most especially spending quality time with beloved friends and family. She also adored animals, having a loving fondness for all the animals that entered her life, including her cat, Ty Ty and her dog, Miles.

Mary had a kind, loving and protective spirit that people admired and appreciated. With her resounding will for life, her unwavering strength in any situation, and her kind and generous heart, Mary will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered by all who were blessed to know her.

Mary leaves to mourn her only surviving sibling and sister Dolores Loftin of California. She also leaves behind her devoted and loving children, John Roy and Ivy Melanie, her cherished family addition, Ekenedilichukwu Atanmo, her only granddaughter, Eliza Rose, and a host of special cousins, nieces, nephews, and treasured friends.

Acknowledgement

The family would like to thank everyone for their help and support during our time of sorrow. We sincerely appreciate the many hugs, kisses, calls and texts, cards, flowers and plants, meals, friendship, uplifting conversations, and other expressions of sympathy that were not only comforting but were shared with us in so many wonderful and beautiful ways. We are truly fortunate and blessed to have such a caring, supportive and thoughtful network of love and gratefully thank you for your acts of kindness and devotion to help us through this storm.