Mary Theresa Pilkington-Casey

CONCORD-A woman with nine lives, six siblings, three degrees, two loving daughters, and one devoted husband, Mary T. Pilkington-Casey, 67, completed her earthly journey at Concord Hospital on Monday, June 20, 2016, after a long battle with MS. Mary PC enjoyed close to 40 years working to improve the lives of some of the state's most vulnerable adults and children.

Born in Middletown, Conn. and raised in Windsor Locks, Conn., Mary PC earned a bachelor degree from Central Connecticut State University and went on to get a Master of Social Work from Boston College in 1975. Following graduation, she moved to Manchester to work for the Department of Health and Human Services as a Child Protection Social Worker. In 1980, Mary PC settled in Concord, where she resided for the rest of her life, to work as a Policy Writer for Social Services. Mary PC moved on to be Chief of the Bureau of Adult Services.

Mary PC then decided to fulfill a dream of practicing law while serving others. She earned her J.D. from Franklin Pierce Law Center, now UNH Law, in 1986. After clerking for a year at the New Hampshire Superior Court, Mary PC returned to UNH Law as a professor with the Clinic program. After 18 years as the Director of the Children and the Law Clinic, Mary PC was the Director of the Administrative Law and Advocacy Clinic. In additional to her Clinic work, where she taught students in a classroom and courtroom, she taught classes such as Children and the Law, Family Law, and Gender and the Law.

During this time she served on many Board’s of Director for community programs including the Salvation Army, Project Second Start, Belknap - Merrimack Counties Community Action Program, and Bishop Brady High School. She also received numerous awards including the 1997 Dr. Roger M. Fossum Award from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect and the 2005 Marilla Ricker Achievement Award presented by the New Hampshire Women’s Bar Association.

In addition to her professional success, Mary PC built a family in Concord with her husband of 35 years, Paul Casey. They raised two daughters, Theresa (Tess) Casey Flanagan and Kathryn Casey, who follow in her footsteps with careers in the law and social work, respectively. In her private life, Mary PC was an elegant person who embodied the modern woman with traditional family values. Cross-stitched quilts, hand sewn Halloween costumes, beautiful gardens, and home cooked family meals every night, Mary PC could “do it all”; creative and crafty years before Pinterest came along. Her greatest joys were her family and friends, and a day at the beach.

Mary PC is survived by her husband, Paul; her daughter, Tess and her husband, Sean Flanagan, of Baltimore, Maryland, her daughter, Kate, of Boston, Mass.; a sister, Sr. Dorothy Pilkington, of Holyoke, Mass.; brother, Gene Pilkington, and his wife, Benitia Pilkington, of Plano, Texas; brother, Bill Pilkington, and his wife, Karen Pilkington, of Rocky Hill, Conn.; sister, Joan Pilkington-Smyth, and her husband, Don Smyth, of Attleboro, Mass.; brother, Jerry Pilkington, and his wife, Margaret Pilkington, of Seekonk, Mass., and Ed Pilkington, of Bangkok, Thailand, and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Calling Hours will be held Monday, June 27 from 4-8pm at Bennett Funeral Home, 209 N. Main St, Concord, NH 03301. A celebration of Mary PC’s life will be held Tuesday, June 28 at 10am at St. Peter Church at 135 N. State Street Concord, NH 03301. Mary PC asked that no one wear black or somber colors on these occasions.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.