Mary Louise Haddad
Mary Louise Trout Haddad passed peacefully at the age of 83 on December 30th at home in Boyertown with Charles, her husband of 62 years, by her side. Born in Upper Darby, PA to H. Allison and Elizabeth Young Trout, Mary-Lou had a connection to Boyertown from her teen years when she spent summers in Forgedale so her father could recuperate from tuberculosis in the cooler country air. In the summer of 1953 Mary-Lou attended a church picnic with a friend from St. John’s Lutheran Church in Boyertown and met Charles, who quickly decided that Mary-Lou was to be his future wife. It was a long-distance romance between two teenagers from Boyertown and Upper Darby and later long distance between two college sweethearts, Mary-Lou at Hood College in Frederick, MD, where she graduated with the Class of 1959, and Charles at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. With Charles graduating in 1958 and active-duty Army service pending, Mary-Lou pinned the 2nd Lt. bars on his shoulders. They married in 1958.
She loved and was loved by her new Haddad family. As an only child of parents who were only children, Mary-Lou did not know what it was like to have sisters or brothers, aunts or uncles, cousins or nephews and nieces but she quickly learned that three people was not a full table as she became the newest member of the Haddad family in Boyertown.
She loved and was loved by her three children, Jeffrey (Agnes), Martha (Greg) and Philip and her 5 grandchildren: Gabrielle (Philip), Tyler, Lily, Sarah, and Hannah. She led her life with grace and poise which served as an example for her family. Her children and grandchildren were the blessing of her life.
She loved her adopted hometown, Boyertown, and her new hometown loved her. In her unassuming way, she made lifetime friends through her bridge club, Rotary Club, neighbors, and the community as a member and later president of Borough Council. She quietly made inroads as one of the first female members of the Rotary Club, later serving as president. She did the same during her 8 years on Boyertown Borough Council including a term as its first female president.
She loved her friendships, many of whom shared lifelong bonds. During her long illness, the loving support from her caregivers and visits from family, friends, and her four Hood College roommates were treasured.
Her love of gardening went beyond her home as she served on St. John’s Garden Committee and served on many other committees there. This civicminded tree-planting and landscaping expanded to include the community as she became active in Building A Better Boyertown where she chaired the tree committee helping make Boyertown a Tree City, USA community and worked to construct the community walkways with flowers, benches, and trees. Mary-Lou asked, prodded, and led others to make Boyertown a greener and more friendly community by gracing it with flowers and trees.
She loved flowers and flowers loved her. In 1975, she and Charles purchased the Isaac and Margaret Stauffer homestead, the first family outside the Stauffer family call this 1825 farmhouse a home. With its acre and a half of lawn and gardens, she spent many delightful years tending to the perennial beds and planting seeds in the small greenhouse for Charles’ vegetable garden and her flower gardens. She oversaw the renovation of the home to its original glory, sharing the yard and home along the way by hosting many clubs for tours, picnics, and fundraisers.
Flowers were Mary-Lou’s life. In Isiah 40, it is written, “the grass withers, the flowers fade but the word of the Lord stands forever.” As the flowers she loved and planted faded, so too has the life of MaryLou. Yet her memory will continue as her family honors her with 80 planters on the main streets of Boyertown that will be filled with flowers each spring and evergreens each Christmas.
In this spirit and in lieu of flowers, memorials may be given in her honor to Building A Better Boyertown, 3 North Reading Avenue, Boyertown, PA 19512 for the purpose of planting additional flowers and trees for the community Mary-Lou loved and the community that loved Mary-Lou.
Graveside services will be private for the family with a later Celebration of the Life of Mary-Lou for the community at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Boyertown when public gatherings are permitted.
Arrangements by the Linwood W. Ott Funeral Home, Inc. 111 North Reading Ave. Boyertown, PA. 19512
Online condolences may be made at www. lwottfuneralhome.com