Mary H. Caruso

Mary was born on October 16, 1926 in Birmingham, Alabama to Kirby and Myrtle McMahen, and was the younger sister of Gwendolyn. Mary spent most of her childhood years in Florida, often recounting stories of her one room schoolhouse, afternoons sitting atop a fence watching her daddy train horses for the dude ranch and, later in the summers of her high school years, taking the train to Connecticut to work on a tobacco farm. After graduating from Lakeland High, Mary embarked on a new journey that took her to New York City where she graduated with her nursing degree from St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in 1948. Mary retired from nursing at the age of 80, with the highlight of her career being her work as head nurse of pediatrics at St. Luke’s Hospital in Manhattan.

Mary was married in August of 1952 to Walter A. Caruso, of Brooklyn, NY. Mary took a 25-year hiatus from her nursing career to devote herself to raising their three children in Mount Kisco, NY where she was a very active and proud member of the community. Mary found particular joy through her many years of involvement with St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the American Red Cross and the PTA for the Mt. Kisco Elementary School. Mary continued to live in their Croton Avenue home until October of 2012 at which time she moved to Foreside Harbor in Falmouth, Maine to be closer to family. It was here in Maine that she developed her love for the glittering waters of Casco Bay, lobster rolls from The Town Landing Market in Falmouth and homemade ice cream from Toots of North Yarmouth.

Mary will be remembered as a kind, gentle soul who never met a proverb she didn’t love and use, an excellent cook and seamstress, an ardent fan of the New York Jets, and a woman who loved red roses and puppy dogs, family dinners and a beautifully set table, and afternoons spent rummaging through antique shops wherever she travelled. Mary was also a talented artist who made thousands of ceramic pieces that will forever adorn the homes of her family and valued lifelong friends.

Mary is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Lynn and Scot Streeter of Mequon, Wisconsin, her daughter and son-in-law, Gale and Andy Tureff of Yarmouth, Maine, and her son and daughter-in-law, Kurt and Kris Caruso of Rochester, NY. She is also survived by her five grandchildren, Sam, Emma and Dylan Tureff and Michael and Dan Caruso, and her extended family including many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be scheduled for a later date on Church Island on Squam Lake in New Hampshire. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Mary’s name to the American Red Cross or to your local chapter of Make-A-Wish.

Mary’s family would like to extend a special heartfelt thank you to the amazing, compassionate people who lovingly cared for her for five years at Foreside Harbor and during her final days, at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine.

Online condolences can be given to the family at www.jonesrichandbarnes.com.