Mary Auldridge

Mary Frances Auldridge, 75, of New Britain, Connecticut, passed away on March 10, 2026. Born on March 3, 1951, Mary lived a life defined by courage, humor, love for her family, and a deep appreciation for her pets, coffee, and smoking—though not necessarily in that order.

From the beginning, Mary was not someone who stood quietly on the sidelines. As a kid she was known to fight older kids that tried to bother her sisters, Patty and Paula. Doing the right thing, even if it meant a scraped knee, was how Mary moved through the world.

In her twenties, armed with little more than a backpack and a sense of adventure, Mary hitchhiked across the country from New England to San Francisco. Mary settled for a while in Boulder, Colorado where she made lifelong friends and welcomed Mary’s only child, Allison Auldridge. Around that time Mary realized an important truth about herself: she was gay and in love with her friend. In a quiet tribute to her girlfriend at that time, she gave her daughter the middle name Kathleen. Soon after Alli was born, Mary returned to Connecticut to live with her sister Paula and raise her daughter alongside her close-knit family.

Mary trained as a nurse at Goodwin Tech in New Britain and spent her career caring for people in long-term care. Nursing was demanding work, and it took its toll over the years, but it was also work that Mary was made for. When Alli occasionally accompanied her mom to work as a child, she saw firsthand how Mary’s patience, humor, and warmth could bring a spark to the eyes of her patients. Mary had a gift for reminding people they still mattered.

For more than 35 years, Mary shared her life with her love, Claudia Conlan. Together they blended their families and eventually moved everyone to rural Vermont, where they spent memorable years trying their hand at farm life and building community in the countryside. It was an adventure that fit Mary’s spirit perfectly, equal parts hard work, laughter, and figuring things out as they went. In her quieter moments, Mary enjoyed crocheting and needlepoint.

Mary spent her final two years living with her sister Patty in Connecticut, and was supported by caregiver and friend, Simone Davis during the last months of her life.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary Auldridge (Lombardo) and Leonard Auldridge; her beloved wife Claudia Conlan; and her sister, Paula Peterson (Auldridge).

She is survived by her daughter, Allison Auldridge; her stepchildren, Sharon Thibeau and Jason Thibeau; her sister, Patricia Auldridge; her brother, Leonard Clifton Auldridge; her niece Emily Huffman (husband Clarence); nephew Brian Peterson (wife Kelly); grand-niece Raylan Huffman, and grand-nephews Wyatt Huffman and Nate Peterson; grandchildren Stella and Jack Auldridge and Abbi Frazier; and her lifelong best friend, Ann McGrath, along with many extended family members and friends. A celebration of Mary’s life will be held at Dignity Memorial in New Britain.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or the Pride Foundation in support of LGBTQ community—two causes that reflect Mary’s experience and the life she lived with honesty and pride.