Mary Zullo

In Loving Memory

“Your memory will always be a guiding light in our lives.”

Mary was born in El Paso Texas on October 31st, 1930, to Edmundo and Hortencia Martinez. Mary was the third of four children. She had two older brothers, Ed and Frank, and a younger sister, Emma. She spent her early years attending school in El Paso until her early teens when her family moved to the big city of Los Angeles where she attended Manual Arts High School.

Mary later became a bank teller, where she worked for Bank of America for several years. It was during that time that Mary’s friend convinced her to go on a blind double date and while on that double date, she met the man of her dreams. Salvatore (Sam) Zullo. They dated for less than a year and eventually married in 1955 and remained married for 71 beautiful years, quite the feat by any standard.

After Marriage they moved to San Diego where her husband Sam had family. They bought a new home and started a family of their own where they raised four wonderful children, Karen, Sam, Bob, and Bill. She later had eight beautiful grandchildren and eight precious great grandchildren.

Mary had a passion for making friends and being engaged in friendly competition. She was an avid bowler and was part of a league for many years. During this same time, she was also in a Bridge Club where she met many new friends and she continued to play into her 90’s. Additionally, she joined the Delta Chi Sigma Phi sorority which did charitable work and held fund raisers to aid the charities that they supported. She loved her church bingo and her trips to casinos, always making new friends along the way.

Mary’s outgoing personality found her well suited for working at the 32nd street Naval Commissary, where she did new product demos, chatted with all who stopped by her table and supported our men and women in uniform as she handed out “tasty samples” along with a dose of caring to anyone who crossed her path, especially the new recruits who were far from their own families, she loved to be the “Mom” to anyone who needed it.

She was our rock, our mentor, and a best friend to many. She had a heart of gold and a passion for making friends and making everyone feel welcome. She was full of life, she was funny, silly, and witty and always the life of the party! Mom was the kind of person who was always happy to share of herself and did so even when age and the pain that came with it set in, but God gave her the strength to continue to be there for her family and kept them all strong and together, even until her final days.

The lessons she taught us were many. She taught us what it means to be shining examples of love, kindness, compassion, and strength as well as the importance of family first, and most importantly what it means to love deeply and unconditionally

She graced this earth for 95 beautiful years and had an amazing life, and we are forever grateful to have been lucky enough to spend so many beautiful years with her. Our hearts will always be filled with the love she shared.

Our family’s greatest wish is that those she touched will share love with those around them, as she did will all those who were blessed to have known her.

Heaven truly gained a beautiful soul, fly high our beautiful mother…Until we all meet again!