Mary Ann Lampert

I am heartbroken to announce the death of my beloved mother, Mary Ann Lampert (nee Inzerilla, daughter of her late father Anthony), predeceased by her husband Ira in 2016. Mary Ann passed away peacefully at the age of 77, at home surrounded by family. My saint of a mom enjoyed horror/alien/slasher movies, Perry Mason, crime dramas and the 24-hour news circuit, the Bellerose Diner (Triple Crown Diner), cold air, ice water, any foods she didn’t cook on her own, generosity and frugality, was always sarcastically funny and unapologetically lived her life how she wanted. She was impervious to disappointment, aside from being a suffering fan of the NY Mets. I said she was a saint, I didn’t say she was perfect.

Mary Ann was born and raised in Brooklyn in an Italian household; after Catholic school she graduated from Tilden HS among many male admirers as she was attractive, elegant and virtuous. No, seriously, the sassiness and dark humor seems to have crept in during her thirties. She attended business school for secretarial studies and learned Pitman shorthand. She met my Jewish father at a Catholic dance and they later married in a Catholic church and then a synagogue on the same day which surely made both sides of the family happy (or tired). Two years later she gave birth and two years afterward they bought their house in Bellerose, Queens, maintaining residence there through their lives. Side note: Mom was a great at dancing the Alley Cat. Plus in the 70’s she was at a disco and the manager offered her a job as a go-go dancer for $200 a week which was Big Money back then. I’m saving the referential comment for several paragraphs down.

Mary Ann worked some years at Manufacturer’s Hanover Trust near Rockefeller Center until her pregnancy. A breastfeeding advocate, she was involved in La Leche League and a few years later when I reluctantly accepted the fate of being weaned away from the loving protective embrace of my mother, she pumped milk and donated it to a woman who couldn’t produce milk for her baby. She was politically active and social before and during the 1970’s bringing me with her during the daytime and attending meetings of the Bellerose Commonwealth Civic Association often regarding protesting certain tax hikes. She also played women’s volleyball on Thursday evenings via St. Gregory the Great R.C. church.

During the 80’s Mary Ann and my father were on a Friday night bowling league at Bellerose Lanes and her average was let’s just say “less than 100” yet she had a good time. She was often part of one and sometimes two weekly poker games with a handful of other ladies of Bellerose, and enjoyed frequent overnight trips to Atlantic City with my father and usually me as well. In the 80’s you could leave your kid in an arcade and casino-hop along the Boardwalk all day, somehow echolocate your child hours later. Speaking of things that would be criminal nowadays …

But first, in the 90’s Mary Ann felt well enough to work and did home health care training, working for a short time caring for a woman who couldn’t pick up her baby due to an accident, then worked for several years caring for an elderly man with Alzheimer’s. *Special thanks to VNS Health Services and S.N.A.P. Meals on Wheels in caring for and providing food/services for my mother.

… So Mary Ann and I went to Florida and though she was allergic she let me bring home a tiny kitten we … happened upon and being … frugal she had me bring/stow the kitten on the plane in a small hole-punched shoe box and the kitten started meowing as we were departing and my mom and I (and Poonchie) were kicked off the plane. Yes we did a “catwalk” of shame up the aisle past amused and/or annoyed passengers. And yes Mary Ann then had to purchase a boarding ticket for the kitten and a $60 pet carrier (in adjusted dollars. That’s minus payload, of course.)

By the time I was five years old my mother was hospitalized twice for illness and then retired from work and the general things in life for a number of years, essentially a domestic homemaker who didn’t. Mary Ann was like a cat living a life of leisure, unbothered and my rock even when she had breast cancer 20 years ago and opted for a drastic surgery so the problem would eliminated. She was there for me when I needed her and very charitable to others including sponsoring children for years through the Christian Children’s Fund, animal care organizations, U.S. Veterans and other charities and organizations.

Mary Ann was thrilled at the birth of her only grandchild. She was there when Frey was born and enjoyed holiday and family gatherings with her granddaughter, and they had many traits in common. Frey’s grandma was happy when Frey told her the saint name chosen for Confirmation will be Marianna. Mary Ann was very happy when Leandro came into my life and he was very good to her, taking care of her comfort and also the house while being very supportive and cheering her up; she loved him and told him so when she was in the hospital. She couldn’t always get his name right (Leon, Leonardo, Leroy … and Joe) but that’s ok.

She will be sadly missed and will always hold a place in my heart. Her maternal perfection was matched only by her hostility. IYKYK. We would love for you to come and honor her life or simply honor her privately.

She leaves behind her cherished daughter Laura (Leandro Nieves) Lampert, beloved granddaughter Frey Lampert, nieces Lynn (Sabina Rojas) Valenti and Donna Valenti, cousins Janet Ricevuto (daughters Gina, Giovanna and Renee) and Susan Scheck (daughters Elyssa and Ileah), granddog Bella Rose Lampert and great-grandcats Bean and Bear Lampert.

It should be widely reported, noted and celebrated that no matter how ill my mother was or unable to take care of me in the way that she had hoped, I have clear memories of our times together and at all times knew that I was precious to, and loved by, my mother.

A committal service for Mary Ann will be held Wednesday, April 10, 2024 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM at Calverton National Cemetery, 210 Princeton Boulevard, Calverton, NY 11792.