Mary was born on March 12, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, the eldest daughter of Joseph and Florence Head. She grew up in Hartwick, NY, and Old Lyme, CT, where she attended Old Lyme public school up through eleventh grade. She then transferred to Saint Bernard’s High School in New London, becoming a member of the first graduating class at that school.
Following high school Mary spent several years as part of a religious community in Boston before completing her college undergraduate work at Southern Conn. State University, and then going on to earn her Master’s Degree from Fairfield University.
She retired in 2001 as Vice President in the Special Assets Dept. of Chase Bank in New Haven, CT., and then she went on to work for several more years in the finance department of Albertus Magnus College in New Haven.
Mary was extremely civic minded and was especially committed to environmental issues in and around her hometown of West Haven. Of special note was her active involvement in the Oldfield Creek Tidal Estuary Preservation Project which earned her a citation as “Woman of the Year” in West Haven in 2001.
One thing Mary was very proud of was a book she and her friend Janet Galligan wrote: "Women, Work and Gospel Values" printed by Sheed & Ward in 1988.
Mary loved traveling to various interesting places with friends and family; she drove at least once across the United States by car, and she made her way up to Alaska on another occasion. She spent time in China as well as in Africa, and she thoroughly enjoyed her pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel.
Mary was also an avid gardener and was working toward her dream of sustainable gardening from out of her own backyard. She attained the title of Master Gardener through the New York City Botanical Master Gardener Program in 2001.
Mary is survived by her sister Elizabeth (Head) Heard of Lebanon, NJ, her sister Cecilia (Head) Wagner of Bridgewater, NJ, her sister Patricia (Head) Babish of Boxborough, MA, and her brother Joseph Head and his wife Colleen of Annandale, NJ, as well as nieces Christina Coccia, Margaret Head, Elizabeth Alvarez, and Catherine Kelly, and nephews David Babish, Michael Babish, Joseph Head, Stephen Head, and Michael Wagner, and nine great-nieces and five great-nephews, all of whom will miss her and pray for her.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Saturday, December 4, 2021 at 11:00am in Christ the King Church, McCurdy Rd, Old Lyme, CT. Interment will follow in Duck River Cemetery, Old Lyme. Calling Hours will be held on Friday, December 3, 2021 from 4:00 until 6:00pm in Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, 13 Beckwith Ln., Old Lyme, CT. Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.com for tributes and directions.
Donations may be made in Mary’s memory to: St. Lawrence Roman Catholic Church, 207 Main Street, West Haven, CT.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.5