Mary Rita Cleere

Mary Rita Biuso was born in New York City on April 2, 1914 to Carmen and Joseph Biuso. Mary was their fifth born child – siblings were Joseph, Freddie, Nellie, and Angie, plus an adopted son, Rosario (Sal). Carmen and Joseph had migrated to New York from Corleone, Sicily via Ellis Island. Joseph, along with Sal, came to the United States to work. Carmen, along with Nellie and Joe, came later to join him. Carmen worked as a seamstress and Joseph an outdoor laborer. They at first lived in New York with friends, then got an apartment, and finally moved to Brooklyn where they bought a home.

Mary attended grade school and high school in Brooklyn. Pearl, a friend of Mary’s didn’t like the name Mary and called her Marie. Her mother liked “Marie” also so the name stuck. Marie began part-time work at the age of 15 at the terminal building in Brooklyn. Later during summer vacation she worked in a candy factory.

When she was 9, Marie’s father died at a young age of 62 due to pneumonia. At that time there was no penicillin. During the depression, a foreclosure took away Carmen’s home in Brooklyn.

As a young woman, Marie one evening sang in a club. After singing “Stormy Weather,” she went to the ladies’ room and was followed by a woman who asked her if she would like to sing on the radio. Marie first sang weekly on a Brooklyn station with a piano accompaniment and then, subsequently in Manhattan with an orchestra. A bandleader asked her to be the band’s vocalist on a road tour but her brother Joseph refused to allow her to go. Meanwhile Marie’s sister Nellie became a well-known vocalist at a nightclub in Brooklyn. Although Marie loved to sing, it was not until 1950 that she sang regularly in a church choir at Saint Rose of Lima church in Chula Vista. She sang with that choir for 25 years and soloed on carols such as O, Holy Night and sang duets with Gene Clarke, who was also a choir member. She also sang at weddings and funerals at Saint Rose.

Marie was a popular young woman who loved to dance and have a good time out on the town. In 1933 she met a young Irish American sailor, Tim Cleere, at Roseland Ballroom in Brooklyn. He asked her to dance. Marie was not impressed with his dancing (“Who taught you to dance?”). In fact she was more interested in his shipmate and tried to push him off on her girl friend. Tim asked if he could see her again. She agreed but told him to wear civilian clothes to the house as her brother was dead set against sailors as date material for his sisters. After the family got to know and like him, Marie revealed his being in the Navy. The two of them dated for about a year, became engaged, and married in Nov. 1934 at St. Joseph’s in San Diego. Because Tim was in the U. S. Navy, Marie moved to San Diego where they had a small apartment near Balboa Park. In 1935 Marie sang in the Exposition chorus at the park. Marie at times lunched at a nearby tearoom in San Diego. The proprietress asked her to word there as a waitress, but Tim balked at his wife having to work. In 1939, a pregnant Marie returned home to Brooklyn.

On August 16, 1939, Marie’s first son was born. He was due to be named James, but since he was delivered on his father’s birthday, Grandma Cleere suggested he be named for him. When Timmy was 4 months old, Marie, to be near her husband, moved to Galveston for 4 or 5 months, along with Mary Pollock and another navy wife. She hated Galveston. They lived in an apartment across the street from the sea wall. Later they moved to Corpus Christi. One Saturday, Mary and Marie took turns to see Gone with the Wind, while the other took care of Timmy.

On October 2, 1945, Marie’s second son, Robert was born. Robert’s infancy was troublesome in that he was subject to convulsions related to having pneumonia.

Because she was a good Navy wife, Marie and her sons had moved frequently to be near the bases and ships to which her husband was assigned. Some of the places included Galveston, Newport, San Diego, and Norfolk.

In 1949, Tim left the Navy and the family moved from Norfolk to the Los Angeles area where they bought their first home in a tract in Montebello. Tim went to Business College and worked at Helms Bakery at night as a baker. After only one year, he was called back into the Navy because of the Korean crisis. The family sold the home and moved into Navy housing in Loma Portal. Shortly afterwards, they purchased a home in Chula Vista on Shasta Drive, and one later on Center Street.

In 1954, Marie, Timmy, and Robert sailed to Guam to join Tim who was captain of an LSM (Landing Ship Miscellaneous) home based there. The ship made runs between the various Marianas Islands. At that time, Marie resumed working for the first time since she was married. She became a saleswoman at the Navy Exchange selling Oriental items, jewelry, and clothes. The family was there for only one year, living in a Quonset hut in the Orote section of the island.

The family returned to San Diego in 1955 to the house on Center Street. In 1959, Marie decided to go the school to become a realtor. She attended Kelsey Jenney College nights in San Diego. Sometime later, she became a licensed real estate agent. Later, she became a broker realtor and joined Yavorsky Realty in Bonita. Meanwhile her husband Tim began a career as clerk in the Superior County Court of San Diego. In 1960, Marie became a member of the San Diego Bay Cities Realty Board. She served on a number of committees including the Grievance Board and the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee. Marie was a realtor for 33 years. As a realty board director she regularly traveled to the state conventions in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Monterey, Anaheim, and San Francisco. Recognitions she received included Realtor of the Year and Salesperson of the Year. She was an honorary member for life at both the local and state level realty boards.