Mary Catherine Carey

Penny was born on July 10, 1926, in Chicago, IL to John (“Jack”) and Nora (Barry) Prendergast. She graduated from St. Thomas the Apostle high school and studied accounting at DePaul University for two years where she met her soon-to-be husband. Robert (“Bob”) C. Carey and Mary Prendergast were married on February 15, 1947. They raised eleven children in LaGrange, IL and then later in Beaver Dam, WI, where they had a successful family-run hardware store. Upon moving to Cape Coral, FL in 1981, Penny was a successful real estate agent and broker.

Penny had a life-long thirst for knowledge and adventure. She had a passion for music, painting, cooking, scuba diving, reading all types of literature, and travel. Reflecting on some of her adventures, Penny wrote “I have been on four continents, a glacier in Alaska and 100 feet down in the Caribbean Sea. I’ve seen the Vatican, the Casbah, the Alhambra, Aztec ruins, a bullfight, the white cliffs of Dover, the D-Day landing site, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon, the Floating Gardens in Mexico, the Blarney Stone, the Grand Canal of Venice, the Mona Lisa in the Louvre and the Rock of Gibraltar.” Her faith, family and friends were the guiding lights throughout her full and remarkable life. Her family is consoled by the thought that Penny has begun her next great adventure.

Penny was preceded in death by her mother and father, Nora and Jack, her younger sister Jeanne, her husband Bob, and her oldest daughter Mary. She is survived by 10 of her children (Bob, Mike, Maureen, Dan, Sheila, Jim, Bill, Eileen, Marty, and Peggy), their spouses (Julie Carey, John Burris, Mary L. Carey, Jim Drengler, Cynthia Carey, Sherry Carey, Tom Kallin, Robin Carey, and Joe Fuhr) and their families, which include 26 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 27th, 2018 at St. John XXIII Catholic Church, 13060 Palomino Lane, Fort Myers, FL 33912. The viewing is at 10:30 a.m. followed by a funeral mass at 11:00 a.m.

The family suggests that in lieu of flowers a charitable donation can be made in Penny’s name to Hope Healthcare at 9470 Healthpark Circle, Ft Myers, FL 33908. Memorial gifts will benefit the Hope PACE elderly care services program of Cape Coral.