My mom passed today at the age of 96…about a month short of what would have been her 97th birthday.  Anyone who knew her would tell you it was an experience knowing and being around her… She shot from the hip, straight true and direct… I’ll miss her strength, infinite capacity to forgive and her ability to take a direct hit and keep moving attitude towards life. To me she was steel..strong, supportive and fiercely protective of her 12 grand and 6 great grandchildren.  To her each of her grands were the most beautiful, intelligent and talented beings to every walk the earth….  Pride met its match with Grammy Mary…

My mothers favorite author was Danielle Steel. I always found it curious that a woman taken out of the 7th grade at the age of 11 to work as a domestic servant would become an avid reader of novels. I’ve never read one of her books personally because I supposed if “my mother” was reading them ….they had to be trashy love novels..and it wasn’t until I actually cracked the cover of one in her room to read the authors Bio that I realized there was more literary merit there than I realized.

My curiosity was more about why this author and why only her?  God knows there is plenty of trashy novels out there…  The best answer I could come up with was that I found a number of parallels between my mom and her favorite author. They both have full and particularly interesting lives….each worked hard in support of the homeless, deeply loved dogs and suffered the loss of their sons.

My mom was born and raised in East Cambridge Massachusetts… Her mom emigrated from Canada with her two older brothers and a sister who died before she was born. Through the Great Depression she worked as a maid to support her mother. When and World War II broke out, she worked in the Watertown Arsenal as a crane operator and as a fork lift operator supplying war ships in the Boston Navy ship yard.  She often talked about driving through a snow shower of asbestos used to insulated the ships while passing her brother who also worked building and repairing ships.

Although times were tough growing up she never failed to keep moving forward. Raising five boys mostly on her own she managed to find ways to scratch out a living, feed her family and give back to others. My mom was a lifelong member of the Woman Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW), Gold Star Wives, The Marine Corps Cooties an auxiliary order to the VFW and has worked to support charitable organizations raising money and donations of food, support and clothing for the poor and sick.

One of her favorite activities was to visit Children’s hospital wards in the area dressed as a clown.  She loved to see them smile as she passed along toys. Mary also fed the poor in area soup kitchens, sold poppies & raffle tickets, made pot luck dinners and baked goods to support a wide range of charitable efforts. I found it ironic that a woman who grew up below the poverty line, worked 2 jobs to support her family for many years, living paycheck to paycheck felt such a need to give both her time and money to others in need.

She loved animals ..in particular her dogs Buddy and Beauty which were a gift from her mother to keep her from being lonely.  With a working single mother she was left alone to mind herself at an early age.  She would spend the day in the neighborhood stable watching, talking with and helping the Irish blacksmith’s shoe and tend to their horses… She always said their Irish brogue’s sounded like music to her….  Mary Lorraine Tisdale was named after the Blessed Virgin Mary….Her mother made a promise to the Virgin Mother that if she gave her a girl she would dress her in blue until she was 7.  I can only imagine the state of those blue dresses and high white boots after a few hours in the stables…

Since her passing this morning many in the nuring home asked to stop by and to pay their respects and say goodbyes to my mother…beautician’s, aids, nurses, administrators and patients…. lined up to kiss, stroke her hand and offer a story of what I refer to as a Mary encounter. She will be missed…. It was a great ride… Thank you Mom for everything…  Love Donnie

http://www.stantonfuneralhome.com/obituary/mary-ferguson?lud=A9A97045925158E8A1A3FECA4E30F903