Cutler, Mary A. (Dunnack)
Mary Ann (“Dee Dee”) Dunnack Cutler, born April 17, 1948, in Windham, Connecticut, died peacefully on April 4, 2024. Mary is survived by her daughter, Cara, and son-in-law, Justin. Mary is also survived by her brothers: David, George, Michael and John; sister Susan; sisters-in-law Sandra, Virginia, Eileen, Linda, Joyce and Mimi; and brother-in-law Richard. She is survived by 34 nieces and nephews (including grands and great grands) and two godchildren as well. She was predeceased by her father, Henry (“Hank”) Dunnack, her mother Jennie Bowen Dunnack, and her husband William (“Bill”) Cutler.
Mary grew up in Willimantic and went to Natchaug and Windham High. Her best elementary school friends were Jane, Kaye and Lauma – “JKLM” – an alphabet incomplete without all four and lifelong friends. Mary is survived by J, K and L.
After an unhappy year of nursing school, Mary went to Eastern Connecticut State University, where she majored in education and minored in Spanish. She worked as a waitress at Butler's Dairy during college. At Eastern, she met her lifelong friend, Stephanie. After college, Mary taught elementary school in northern Maine, along with Stephanie. Mary loved adventures and drove cross country and back two times during college, camping all along the way. She even made a quick detour into Mexico and briefly worked at an Expo in California.
Mary returned to Willimantic after Maine, where she worked at Mansfield Training School and Curbstone Press. On April 2, 1977, by pure happenstance, Mary met Bill. They married in September of 1978. They were deeply in love. They spoke to or saw each other every single day from the day of their meeting until Bill's sudden death on Valentine's Day of 2023.
While Bill, Mary and Cara were a small family, they were a close and loving family. In the early years, Bill, Mary and Cara shared weekend trips to Vermont, western Massachusetts and southern Maine with their dog Eros, named after the Greek god of love. They enjoyed going to folk music concerts, walking around Sturbridge Village, eating maple “creamees” while admiring foliage and antiquing in Brimfield. As they got older, Bill and Mary continued these trips and Cara joined when she could. Locally, Mary, Bill and Cara used to love to watch performances of The Second Step Players, whose mission is to present, “conscious comedy for social change to open minds and heal hearts by increasing positive perceptions of people who have mental illnesses.”
For decades, Mary worked in non-profits like Inchliffe Group Home and First Step. She loved helping and engaging with people. Mary went back to school in her 40s and earned a Masters in Social Work in 1995. Her major concentration was Group Work. She completed her certification to become a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW). She worked as a psychiatric social worker - at first Corrigan and later York Correctional Centers – for 20 years. She ran groups for incarcerated people during this time. She liked going to Cape Cod for week-long social work continuing education trainings. While a social worker, Mary went on lots of adventures with Cara in New Mexico, California, Washington and Oregon. She especially loved viewing orcas (killer whales) via Zodiac inflatable boat and riding an electric scooter in the San Juan Islands. She loved adventuring with JKLM, too, including their 50th birthday celebration at Disney and a trip to Niagara-onthe-Lake in Canada.
Following her insatiable appetite for adventure, after Bill's death, Mary moved to the Front Range of Colorado to be close to her daughter and son-in-law. She explored Eldorado Canyon State Park, Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Lookout Mountain, Boulder, Morrison, Golden and Denver with Cara and Justin in her final year. While she settled into Colorado life well, she also viewed this period as a time of perpetual vacation and never-ending adventure. Everything was new to her – the huge mountains, brilliant aspen trees and plentiful wildflowers did not cease to amaze her. Mary suffered a massive stroke on the eve of Mary and Bill's anniversary of their April 2 meeting date and died three days later. Life was lonely without Bill.
A funeral will be held on Friday, April 19, 2024 at 10:30 AM at the Cutler Family Cemetery in West Hartford, Connecticut. Mary will be buried next to Bill. A reception at the home of a relative will follow. Please contact Weinstein Mortuary or the family for more information regarding the commemoration of Mary's life. Mary touched so many lives in wonderful ways. All family and friends are very welcome to come and celebrate Mary's life. Flowers for the funeral or reception can be sent to Weinstein Mortuary; they should be delivered on Thursday, April 18. Donations in Mary's honor can be made to the parent organization of The Second Step Players, ArtReachHeals, at ArtReachHeals.org.