Mary Catherine (Mayer) Rosnack from Babylon, N.Y., passed away peacefully with her daughter Mary Ellen Szwejkowski by her side on Monday, February 17, 2020, at the age of 95 years. She was pre-deceased by her three husbands, Edward J. Rosnack (25 years), Vincent Cusumano (20 years), and Edward A. Reilly (15 years), and her beloved son, Robert J. Rosnack. Mary Catherine married Edward J. Rosnack on April 24, 1948.
Mary Catherine was born in Brooklyn,NY on November 3, 1924, to Elsie Richter and John Michael Mayer. She attended the Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School, and in the early 1950’s to 1960’s, worked as a secretary to the principal of Oak Drive School, and to the superintendent Dr. Robert Savitt, of the Plainview School District. Later Mary worked at various jobs in NYC for the Bulova Watch Company, Dunlevy Hearing aid center dealership. She finally retired in 1989 after working for 25 years in the Medical Records and for an oral surgeon at the Nassau University Medical Center (formerly Meadowbrook hospital ), as a civil service employee.
It is very important to acknowledge the fact that Mary Catherine’s daughter, Mary Ellen was born deaf as a direct result of contracting the rubella virus during pregnancy. However, Mary Catherine was determined to make sure that her daughter would grow up to become a productive and successful member of our society. She devoted many hours, days, months to teach Mary Ellen how to speak and to lip read. On a daily basis, Mary Catherine drove her daughter to New York City to a facility called the New York League for the Hard of Hearing, where they provided training on speech and lip reading. She was very excited when Mary Ellen spoke her first sentence “That’s a little duck”, to the point that she ran out to her neighbors to share the exciting news! Mary Catherine’s motivations did pay off as her daughter went on to graduate from a regular high school, college, and graduate school, with a M.S degree in Microbiology and had a job at a hospital laboratory .If it weren’t for Mary Catherine’s hard work and strong determinations, Mary Ellen would not be where she is today .
Mary Catherine leaves behind her only daughter, Mary Ellen Szwejkowski ,(husband Thomas) and her six grandchildren, Jason Szwejkowski, Justin Szwejkowski (Dara), James Szwejkowski, Jenna Szwejkowski Filonuk (Rob), Kathryn Rosnack, Michelle Rosnack, and a daughter in Law, Constance Rosnack , grandchildren,Jodi Falco-Norce (Chris), and Steve Falco. Mary Catherine was a Great Grandmother to seven children, Keira, Tyler, Danielle, Brooke, Serena, Fiona and Priscilla.
Mary Catherine lived a full life, loved swimming in the ocean, camping , boating, and traveling all over the USA and Europe on cruises. She was also active and volunteered at her parish at St Joseph’s church by helping plan events. She loved spending time with her grandchildren and was so proud of her expanding family. In addition, Mary Catherine was a big animal lover, and had a very deep love for her two shitzu dogs, Barney and Baxter. In 2012, she went through a terrible devastation when she lost her beloved house to “super Sandy” hurricane, in which Mary was constantly moved from one motel to another. Ten months later, Mary Catherine’s husband Ed Reilly passed away. Despite all these hardships, she Never gave up and kept going on with her life. She aged with grace and dignity and will be truly missed by all.
Visitation will take place on Sunday, February 23rd, from 2 pm to 4:30 Pm, and from 7pm to 9:30 Pm, at the Boyd-Spencer funeral home, 448 West Main Street, Babylon, NY 11702. A funeral mass will be held on Monday morning, February 24th, at 10 am, at the St. Joseph’s Church, 39 Carl Avenue, Babylon, NY 11702. Burial to immediately follow at the Calverton National Cemetery, 210 Princeton Blvd, Calverton, NY 11933.
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