Mary L Crane

Mary L. Crane, 85, of Naples, died peacefully with her family by her side, on Saturday evening, March 16, 2013. She was born Mary Louise Mateika on September 25, 1927 in Bayonne, New Jersey. She spent her childhood in Bayonne with her parents Stephen and Philomena, her sisters Rose and Helen, and her brothers Stephen and Paul. Mary graduated from Bayonne High School in 1945, and then attended Pace College in New York City.

While working at the engineering firm of Howard, Needles, Tammen, and Bergendoff, in New York City, Mary met her late husband, Michael E. Crane. Mike was an Attorney and a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and was assigned to the New York Office. Mike and Mary were married on January 29, 1956 in Bayonne, New Jersey, and after being blessed with three children, Tom, Jim, and Cheryl, Mary became an active mother and homemaker. The family moved with Mike’s FBI assignments, first to Monterey, California, and then to Miami, Florida in 1963. When Mike retired from the FBI in 1975, the family moved to Naples, Florida, where Mike teamed with long time friend Thomas Maloney to partner in the law firm of Maloney and Crane, and then later joining with Quarles and Brady. Mike passed away in 1999.

During Mary’s early years in Naples she worked at Edison Community College, as the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the Collier County Campus, where she loved the interaction with the Students, and the Edison Students and Staff loved her. Mary retired from Edison Community College in 1991, becoming active with St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church and volunteering with Naples Community Hospital. A lifelong passionate bridge player, Mary loved to play bridge when ever possible, honing her skills to play duplicate as well, and developing many special friendships throughout the St. John’s and Naples’ bridge communities.

Mary was a woman with a large heart and a gentle kindness. She was admired, loved, cherished, and adored by her family and friends, especially her children and grandchildren. Mary enjoyed and devoted herself to her family and extended family, possessing a gift of kindness and grace that led to an individually distinct special relationship with each member of her family and each friendship she developed. To many she was known as Aunt Mary, treasuring and maintaining a unique bond of love and support with those nieces and nephews up until the last day of her life. Mary also enjoyed a loving relationship with her Relatives in Ireland, having shared many of life’s precious moments together over the years. And it is her Irish Cousin, Father Gerard Cryan, who will say Mary’s Funeral Mass.

Mary is survived by her two sons, Thomas J. Crane of Naples, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia, and James S. Crane and his wife Kimberly Crane, and their two children, Kerrigan and Garran of Atlanta, Georgia; her daughter, Cheryl A. Steve and her husband, David A. Steve, and their three children, Jacqueline, Samantha, and Andrew of Jacksonville, Florida.

A Mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 625 111th Ave N, Naples, FL 34108 on Monday, March 25, 2013 at 1:30 p.m. followed by burial at Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens, 525 111th Avenue North, Naples FL 34108. A reception will take place at the St. John’s Parish Hall after the burial.