elevated Nwh5g December 11, 1919 – August 23, 2019
elevated Nwh5g Graveside Service
elevated Nwh5g Saturday September 14, 2019 at 12:00 p.m.
elevated Nwh5g Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Section 11
elevated Nwh5g Reception
elevated Nwh5g Reception to follow at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home (Located on the same property as Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery)
elevated Nwh5g Life Story
elevated Nwh5g Mary is known by many people at the Waterford as the lady who encourages the knitting of Izzy Dolls for children who receive Humanitarian Medical Kits in “third world countries”. Mary came to the Waterford about 10 years ago when there were approximately 40 residents here, in the early days!
elevated Nwh5g Mary’s parents came to Canada from Malta in early 1900, moved to Toronto and raised 5 children. Malta is an Island in the Mediterranean Sea between Sicily and North Africa and has been of interest to many European countries over the years. It is now a popular tourist spot for Europeans.
elevated Nwh5g Mary married and she and her husband moved to North York at a time when all areas north of Bloor St. in Toronto were farmland and soldiers were coming home to build houses and start families. Mary and her husband had one son, Allan. Mary has a granddaughter named Cindy and a Great Grandson named Michael.
elevated Nwh5g Mary was always doing her friends hair, while playing cards, so her friends suggested Mary should get her license which she did from the Marvel Hairdressing School. Mary was a great saver and had put her son’s baby bonus away. She used the money along with some help from the Bank and relatives to open a brand new salon with her friend Jean in “Thorncrest Village”. They called it “Gina-Mari”. It became very successful and when she sold it she made sure she repaid Allan the money. Mary and her second husband, Allister, who was a real gem, bought a house in Etobicoke. Mary got a job at Christmas time working for the Hudson Bay Department Store. She ended up staying on and worked there for 20 years. When Allister and Mary retired in 1981, they moved to Sandy Cove and spent their winters in Florida.
elevated Nwh5g Mary’s suggestions for a rewarding retirement 1) have some goals 2) keep busy 3) have some fun! Mary works on the milk bag mats, joins the Monday Melodies and aims to knit 2 Izzy dolls a day. She has helped with the production of some 9000 dolls sent from the Waterford over the years.
elevated Nwh5g Thank you Mary, for taking the time with me and best wishes always.
elevated Nwh5g Humanitarian Medical Kits Contain Essential Lifesaving Medicines, 12 Izzy Dolls in every kit. They need 12000 Dolls every year. Close to 100,000 children have received Izzy dolls in more than 100 countries.
elevated Nwh5g “Its such a neat and concrete way of offering your time and skills for a little child”.
elevated Nwh5g Betty Cawley
My Condolences to Mary’s family.
My Aunt Mary was blessed with many gifts: kindness, generosity, intelligence, humour, positivity, strength and beauty. She led a full life with courage and grace. I will always remember our visits to Aunt Mary’s house where the Cicci kids were welcomed warmly (and where some of us were submitted to some of Aunt Mary’s “bowl” haircuts! )Thank you Aunt Mary for being the best sister to my mother Polly, a wonderful aunt to us and such a beautiful example of what it means to be a strong, independent woman. Love Janet xx
I will sorely miss my visits to Mary at The Waterford. I have provided Footcare services for Mary since 2007 so she was more of a friend than a client.We always had a laugh and she always had some story to tell. She loved knitting her dolls , she said that it saved her sanity !!
I know that she loved her family and always mentioned her son and her grandchildren. I will miss you Mary but know that you haven’t got the aches and pains any more.