Mary Wickster Charbonneau

Mary Elizabeth Charbonneau (nee Wickster), 82, of Rockville, MD passed away peacefully at home on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 surrounded by her family. Mary was born on October 4, 1943, in Oak Park, Illinois. She was preceded in death by her beloved son James Charbonneau, Jr.; her parents, Dr. George and Elizabeth Wickster; and her brother, Paul Wickster. Mary is survived by her husband of 61 years, Dr. James Charbonneau; sons Michael Charbonneau (Natalie) and John Charbonneau; daughters Mari Pridemore (Dennis), Anne Cardile (Daniel), Teresa Robertson (David), and Paula Charbonneau (John Michael Ford); her siblings George Wickster (Theresa), David Wickster (Nancy), Margaret Coulter, and Francella Betancourt (the late Dr. Jose Betancourt); eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Mary was the oldest of six children and a proud daughter of Dr. George and Elizabeth Wickster. Mary spoke of her Catholic faith as one of the greatest gifts she received from her parents and was deeply moved by witnessing the unwavering devotion her father, a beloved physician, had for his patients. As a young woman, Mary was a gifted student and received a full scholarship to attend Catholic University in Washington DC. It was there where she met the love of her life and her husband of 61 years, Jim, her handsome French Canadian Teaching Assistant in the Analytical Chemistry class in which she was – fortunately, as it turned out - struggling. Mary got out of that class quickly, but not before falling in love with her TA. Jim took Mary ice skating on their first date. He says he fell in love with her laugh first.

Mary and Jim were married on July 10, 1965. She remembered to her daughter that the song “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love” was playing as she dressed for her wedding. Mary and Jim had seven children and raised them in Rockville, Maryland. Mary often said her children were “her inheritance.” Her children were raised with values of kindness, concern for the vulnerable, laughter, and always faith. When money was tight or there was a hurdle, Mary turned to God with a steadfast faith, on her knees, with arms outstretched. She often said, “God will provide.” She lived her life with that audacious faith.

Mary and Jim were members of Saint Mary’s Catholic Church for over 50 years where she continued to nourish a tender devotion to Our Lady, her namesake. Mary believed deeply in the God-given, inherent dignity of all human beings, whether young or old, rich or poor, weak or strong. This belief was reflected in the causes she championed throughout her life and simply in the way Mary treated everyone she met. “The most important person is the one right in front of you,” her children remember being taught.

Mary was kind and genuinely loved people. It was not uncommon for her children to be approached by strangers, telling them about how much they loved their mother or how Mary had helped them. Mary was dear friends with a neighbor around the block who cared for her adult son with disabilities. When this friend passed, Mary and Jim continued to talk on the phone with this son nearly every day around noon, sometimes just to say a quick Our Father. He was a fixture at their Thanksgiving table, and the family came to see him as extended family because that was Mary’s way of leading: by including everyone.

Mary was the family historian and a gifted writer, penning a column about life raising a large Catholic family in the Catholic Standard called “Dear Archbishop” for many years. She wrote yearly Christmas letters about Charbonneau family adventures and follies with candor and wit and warmth. She was a voracious reader, often found lost in thought in the midst of relative family chaos with a book in her hands as the children clamored for her attention: “Mom. Mommmm!” All that reading came in handy as she never missed a history question in family games of Trivial Pursuit. She filled linen closets with books and filled her children’s minds with stories and the voices of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Not always fully appreciating the life lessons they were learning in the moment, Mary’s children would often grumble as they waited in the Saint Mary’s parking lot while Mary stayed long after Mass to talk with her treasured friends at church, or when she would stop to pick up a pedestrian walking to the Rockville Metro station in the rain. But of course, Mary loved loving her family too. “Hip Hip Hurray!” was a frequent refrain in childhood and into adulthood for her children for small and big moments alike. Her oldest grandson Dominick who lived with them for several years says, “Grandma would call me Honey Bunches and always had the best hugs.” Her children remember her joyful welcome as they walked in the door and her standing at the door waving as they would pull out the drive and long after.

Fittingly, Mary was born on the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi and passed on the Feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, friends and mission partners who devoted themselves to spreading the peace of Christ and the care of the poor. Her spirit reflected this love and care for the vulnerable. Mary included others always, not out of obligation, but because she saw them and delighted in them. Her husband Jim and her children and her grandchildren’s hearts continue to be filled with the memory of that delight.

Mary often prayed over her children the biblical blessing: “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you. May He look upon you kindly and give you peace.”

And now, united with God, Mary’s face shines upon her children too.

As her husband Jim said at her passing, “We loved her so much.”

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Saint Mary’s Church, 520 Viers Mill Road, Rockville, MD on Thursday August 20, 2026 at 10:00a.m., with a visitation before from 9:00a.m. to 10:00a.m. Private Burial to follow at Saint Mary’s Cemetery Rockville, MD on Friday August 21, 2026.

Mary’s family would like to thank her wonderful caregivers who ministered to Mary in her final years in her home.

The family welcomes floral tributes or donations in Mary’s memory to one of the following nonprofits:

• Montgomery Hospice whose compassionate care and support helped Mary’s family walk her home with dignity, comfort, and love. https://montgomeryhospice.org/donate-pg/

• Manna Food Center. Mary worked as a grant writer for Manna Food Center for many years, whose mission is to provide food to neighbors in Montgomery County, MD.

https://www.mannafood.org/give/donate-online/

• Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Washington or your local Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities assists individuals and families in need, especially those who are most vulnerable. https://www.catholiccharitiesdc.org/get-involved/ways-to-give/honor-and-memorial-gift/

It is such a gift to hear about the many ways Mary touched the lives of those around her. The family invites friends and loved ones to share their memories in the online guestbook.