Thompson, Mary Louise
Mary Louise Thompson of Rocky Hill, CT entered into eternal peace at the age of 97 on Mother's Day, May 8, 2022. Mary was born on September 4, 1924; the seventh of twelve children to her parents Dennis and Carmella (Primiano) Civiello. She was born and raised in the town of Millinocket in the great state of Maine. Mary left Maine and moved to Hartford, Connecticut in 1942 to begin a new adventure. In Connecticut she met and married her late husband John F. (Sharkey) Thompson. Despite now being entrenched in Connecticut living, Mary remained close with her family in Maine. Mary's children are appreciative of the fact that she insisted on making an annual visit to her hometown. No small feat as it was a seven hour one way ride to Millinocket. However, because of the annual family trip, it allowed her children the opportunity to get to know and appreciate the love and kindness of the extended Civiello family. Mary was fortunate to be born with energy, determination, discipline and extraordinarily good health. She utilized all of these characteristics to live a long and fulfilling life. Mary was widowed at 57 years old and was not prepared for that reality. However, she overcame her unfortunate circumstance to live an impressively independent life for the next forty years. She was ahead of her time. Cardio and core exercises as well as a healthy diet before it became fashionable, however, her most impassioned activity was ballroom dancing. While growing up in Maine, she fell in love with the dancing and the music of her era. According to Mary, she and some of her classmates would practice dancing at school during lunchtime almost every day. Mary mastered her dancing skills and brought them to Connecticut.
She met her future husband dancing at Colts Park in
Hartford, where large social dancing events were held. Throughout their marriage, Mary and John would dance whenever the opportunity allowed. Upon Johns passing in 1982, Mary continued to dance occasionally until her retirement from the state of
Connecticut. At that time, she discovered afternoon ballroom dancing in Elmwood, West Hartford Center,
and Bristol and she continued to dance at those venues into her early nineties. Her goal was always the same;
dance every dance. Mary is survived by her daughter Anne, her Husband Mike, and daughters Laura, Annie and Jennifer. She is also survived by her son Dennis, his wife Lenore, and sons Evan and Patrick. Mary is predeceased by her parents, her brothers; Joseph,
Louie, Frank, Mike, Charlie, John; and her sisters, Francis, Pauline and Anita. She is survived by her sisters Lillian and Ann. Mary was also the final living member of the notorious women's social group known as the GAB CLUB. To all members of the original GAB CLUB families: Thanks for the memories. For all who remained in contact with Mary, she was grateful for your kindness throughout her life. Mary's family is thankful for the efforts of her physicians who assisted Mary in maintaining the best quality of life possible. Thanks to Doctors; Peter White, James Nugent, Khubaib Mapara, Jacques Mendelshon, and
Gail Lagana. There are no calling hours as the funeral was private and took place at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary's memory to the American Heart Association www.heart.org. Please share online expressions of sympathy, memories, or photo tributes at www.rosehillfuneralhomes.com