Mrs. Mary Ann Cronley

schools, graduating from Ursuline Academy.

When Mary Ann married Thomas Lawton Cronley in January 1955, neither had ever seen the ocean. They quickly made up for it when Tom’s career brought him to Long Island, NY; Patuxent River, MD; then Redondo Beach, CA (with a brief desert stopover in Fort Huachuca, AZ). Mary Ann’s first two children are Californians, Matthew James (Laurie) born 1958, and Ann Therese (widowed of John Piazza), born 1959.

Tom’s final placement with this company was in Atlanta, and they eventually settled in Sandy Springs. Four more children came to the couple, Joseph Martin in 1961, John Jude (also married to a Mary Ann) in 1963, Donna Catherine in 1966, and Maureen Patricia in 1967.

Mary Ann was a voracious reader, often finishing more than one book per week. She read the world’s great 20th century writers, and as a young mother read the groundbreaking works of the

first wave feminists. As some of her older children were leaving the house and her role as a mother of six was scaling back, she realized that she was as capable as any to pursue a career

in the larger world.

After starting in sales roles and managing purchasing for a small manufacturing company, she began investing in real estate. She purchased and managed apartment buildings in midtown Atlanta and Stone Mountain, learning the industry and profiting on the transactions. She began a full-time career in real estate, working with the Harry Norman group for over 15 years.

After Tom retired, he took a post-career job in Washington D.C., prompting Mary Ann to retire from real estate and relocate. After his second retirement and return to Atlanta, they purchased a motorhome and traveled for months at a time. Their trips spanned the U.S. from coast to coast, Maine to Seattle and San Diego to Key West, and traversed much of Canada. They frequently stopped in to see their growing number of grandchildren not only in the Atlanta area but in Illinois and South Carolina.

As Mary Ann found more time for herself, she returned to earlier hobbies of oil and acrylic painting, gardening, and bird watching. In their final home in Woodstock, she meticulously cultivated the small backyard of their patio home, making the most of that limited space.

Mary Ann shared with her children that she and Tom decided early in marriage that they wanted to have a large family. They consciously chose this lifestyle, knowing that it would make their lives more difficult. The house could be chaotic, and budgets were constantly stretched, but they always prioritized their children over their own needs.

Mary Ann drove to countless practices, sporting events, concerts, school plays, she monitored grades, went to school conferences and kept track of the schedules for everyone. When her children went places she spent most of her time holding supplies, planning meals, making sure everyone was dressed. While they were running around and she was holding everyone's jacket, keeping track of them, making them put their shoes back on, giving them snacks, doctoring scrapes, she didn't get to actually do anything until they became teenagers. With a working and traveling husband, she did most of it herself. grandparents and the nearest family were hundreds of miles away.

Twice, when Tom was called to work temporarily on company projects in California, the family packed all six kids and at least one dog in the station wagon, hitched up the large camper trailer,

and drove cross country. They rented a place near his project so the family could be together each day, and weekends were spent on excursions to nearby sights, including Yosemite and, in transit, the Grand Canyon. Lots of parents might have shied away from such a commitment, but Mary Ann rose to the occasion and joined in the adventure. Among many others, these things defined her as a woman and as a mother.

Mary Ann passed away January 21, 2026, surrounded by family, after a period of declining health.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by Tom. Her six children grieve her, along with ten grandchildren, Ruth Siddiqi, Joyce Gallagher, Ryan Cheeks, John Piazza (Sarah), Charlotte Cronley, Joseph Cronley, Camille Cronley Slusser (Caleb), Francis Cronley, John Cronley Sylvester (Beverley Sylvester), and William Ezekiel “Zeke” Cronley (Hope Bobak-Cronley). She also leaves seven great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter. If you view the slides on the website, you will see a picture of five generations of McCullom/Cronley women.