Mary Louise Crean

CREAN – Mary Louise O'Connor. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts on May 19, 1927, died in Brooklyn, September 16. Her parents were Loretta and Maurice who met and married in Brooklyn in 1918. She had five siblings, Maurice, John, Paul, Ann and Tom, who have all since passed. Marylou attended Mount Saint Mary College in New Hampshire and received a Bachelor of Science in biology in 1948. She moved to Chicago in the early 50s where she worked in chemistry labs and then as a science teacher in the public high schools. Marylou met John Crean in Chicago and they were married in 1956. Shortly afterwards, Marylou and John moved to Paris where John was pursuing his doctoral studies at the Sorbonne. They returned to the US in 1960. Their son, Thomas, was born in 1965. The family moved back to Paris in 1970 and a daughter, Sarah. was born in November of that year. They moved back to Chicago in 1973. Besides being a devoted partner, mother, daughter and sister, Marylou worked various jobs and was also active in St. Thomas of Canterbury parish as well as in several progressive electoral campaigns. She was devoted to learning and passionately interested in a wide range of subjects including all things French, art and architecture, historic preservation, early utopian settlements, environmentalism and social justice. In 1998 John and Marylou moved to Williamstown, Massachusetts. John passed away in 2007 and Marylou moved to Brooklyn in 2011 to be closer to her family. She is survived by her children, Sarah and Thomas, his partner Eleanor Rodgers and their children Nora and James, her sisters in law Joan, Winnie and Jenna as well as 24 nephews and nieces. Memorial Gathering, Friday, September 20 at Joseph G. Duffy Funeral Home, 255 9th Street, Brooklyn, 6-8:30 pm.