H. Mary Webbere

H. Mary Webbere of Orleans, MA passed away on Oct. 28, 2014. She had a smile and decorum that radiated hospitality and warmth, welcoming all those she met, including a stray BBC camera man who meandered into one of the Orleans Yacht Club’s summer cookouts. Mary and George, her husband of 72 years who passed away in April, invited the stranger into their home and showed Ian the sights of the Cape for a week! And her grandson, Andrew remembers learning all the necessary social graces from age 5 while serving cucumber sandwiches to the ladies at one of Mary’s infamous 4 o’clock teas.

Mary never considered herself remarkable but she was. Born in Manhattan, she grew up and spent time in Staatsburg, NY, Newport, RI, Paris, France (French was her first language), and New York. In 1938 at the height of the Great Depression, she graduated as a Katie Gibbs girl and became an executive secretary for a New York yacht broker. She made $12 per hour and felt very fortunate when so many had nothing.

She was young, intelligent, and beautiful when she met the handsome George A. Webbere who worked on the same floor as she did on Madison Avenue in New York. Her parents disapproved of young Webbere, who lived in the YMCA. But Mary was poised for adventure and to follow her heart. In 1941, George was called up for active duty, the rumblings of World War II were eminent. He proposed to her against her parent’s wishes ─ love won out, she caught a train to Savannah, GA eloping with her Army corporal in Savannah, GA on March 7, 1942.

Mary worked tirelessly and volunteered with the Red Cross during World War II, and after the War, she became the original “Dear Abby” for the Stars and Stripes Newspaper. Her advice column instantly became popular with servicemen in Berlin, German. At the same time, her son Douglas was born during the Berlin Airlift.

After the war, Mary and George returned to Rhinebeck, NY, purchased their first home for $5,100, and George began a new career. Life was good but George was called up for the Korean Crisis. Mary’s adventures were only beginning, George decided to make the Army his career, and she embraced her life as an Army officer’s wife with grace and dignity for the next 20 years.

Cold Springs, NY, Fort Bragg, NC, Fort Benning, GA, Fort Bliss, TX and Munich, Germany became home to the family of four. As a busy mother of two, Mary always found time to work with the Red Cross, eventually in charge of 2,000 volunteers in Arlington, VA. While in Germany she learned German and developed friendships, including many German artists. This was the beginning of her passion to paint that matured once she and George moved to the Cape in 1975 where she helped form the Orleans Art Association.

Mary Webbere was never one to talk about herself, she was a doer─ at the Church of the Holy Spirit she was on the alter guild, was a buyer and volunteered at the Galley West shop, and was the first women to be voted to the vestry; her artistic visions delighted those who came to the Holly Berry Bazaar; she drove people to the polls; was president of the Women’s Garden Club; and organized art exhibits at Snow Library.

She will be missed by her son, Douglas of Strasburg, PA, her daughter, Sandra of Raleigh, NC, two grandsons Michael Webbere of Lancaster, PA and Andrew Wellons of Las Vegas, NV, and three great grandsons, Caleb, Noah, and Aiden all of Lancaster, PA.

A memorial service will be held Monday, November 10, 2014 at 11:00 am with a reception to follow at the Church of the Holy Spirit, 204 Monument Road, Orleans. Mary Webbere will be buried in the churchyard at St. James Episcopal Church, Hyde Park, NY at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Friends of Snow Library, Orleans, MA or to the Orleans Conservation Trust.