Mary loved life and was devoted to her family
MARY HAYES, late of Tuskar View, passed away at the age of 88 on Wednesday of last week.
She left the world the way she would have liked: quietly and peacefully, surrounded by the family she loved so much.
Mary was born Elizabeth Mary O'Connor on May 17, 1926. She was just seven years old when her mother died and in the years that followed she worked hard to help take care of her younger siblings.
In her youth she was a champion Irish dancer and was so proud when in later years when daughter Lynda followed in her footsteps.
In 1954 Mary married love of her life, Pat, the well-known photographer and Capitol Cinema projectionist. They enjoyed a wonderful marriage for almost 50 years until Pat passed away in January 2004.
Pat and Mary worked side by side in both the Capitol and in Pat's photography business. He had the creative eye; she the administration skills.
In their spare time they showed their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, travelling to dog shows in venues like the RDS, where Mary would lead their prize pets around the parade ring.
Before illness required nursing home care, Mary led a very active life. She was an avid walker who - even in her seventies - considered ten miles a short Sunday stroll.
After raising her children, she did not rest on her laurels but joined both the Wexford Ladies Club and the Active Retirement Association. She learned new skills - including bowling and using a computer - and even had a splash in a swimming pool, despite her great fear of water since childhood.
Well into her seventies, she also took part in a number of Women's Mini Marathons in Dublin, often complaining that some of the ' younger ones' couldn't keep up.
Mary loved to be around
■ young people and in the eighties was the 'mammy', mentor and manager of a cabaret group of talented teenagers from Wexford. They took part in summer cabaret seasons in local hotels, as well as performing for passengers on the ferry to France out of Rosslare and in social clubs in Wales, all under the care and guidance of Mary.
The big love of Mary's life was her family. A wonderful, loving mother to Patrick, Jim and Lynda, a devoted wife to Pat, and a 'nana' who doted on her grandchildren, she always put family first. Mary had a big heart and showed true kindness to friends and neighbours in their times of need. And she took great delight from the achievements and successes of both her children and grandchildren.
It's fitting that in her final years Mary was afforded the kind of care and compassion she showed to others down the years. The staff of Abbeygale House, in the HSE's Farnogue Residential Healthcare Unit in Wexford, showed a care and dedication to Mary and her family that went far beyond the call of duty.
Mary is survived by sons Patrick and Jim, daughter Lynda (Lawlor), sister Frances (Stafford), daughters-in-law Maire and Christina, son-inlaw Mick, brother-in-law Aidan, grandchildren Raymond, Christopher, Darragh, Leon, Nicole, Mia and Lucy, nephews, nieces, other relatives and friends.
She was laid to rest beside her beloved Pat, and her dear mother and father, in St. Ibar's, Crosstown, after 10 a.m. Mass in Bride Street Church last Friday. May she rest in peace.