Aunt Mary Ann and the Quincy Flooding

Aunt MaryAnn McCorry sent this dispatch and these photos June 17 from Quincy, Illinois, about the flood this past week. You'll all be happy to know she's safe:
"The flooding has come again and it is worse than the '93 flood. Quincy is high on the bluff, though, so we are safe. So many volunteers are hard at work. The thousands of sand bags being filled here in town will be going up and down the river to where they are needed most. Several levees have broken already. What sand bags were adequate in '93 are not sufficient this time in some areas. And 'Old man river, he just keeps rolling a-long.'"













Aunt MaryAnn also shared her thoughts on the death of Tim Russert. I noted in a previous post that he was taught by Mercy nuns. MaryAnn writes about another aspect of his life...the fact that he was quite wealthy as a network news star (NBC Nightly News did a report on Russert's charity work on its Friday night broadcast).
MaryAnn writes: "It says the greatest tribute....is not what you HAVE (fancy home and fancy address, etc.) it's WHAT YOU HAVE GIVEN, EVERY DAY that really matters. People really loved him, because he gave TRUE love to many. What a father he was! What a son he was! And how he could interview! His good Jesuit education was very evident!!!"

Erin and Maureen home for the summer

Erin Freer (l) and cousin Maureen Gesley at a dinner welcoming them home from college. Erin completed her first year at Simpson University near Redding, Calif. She will be working at a Stone Cold Creamery near her home in Oakley during the summer. You may recall, Erin won a scholarship for her freshman year during an on-campus orientation day when she played a version of the TV game show "Deal or No Deal." Her mom, Tricia, is hoping for a return appearance. ;)
Maureen completed her third year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, though not IN Madison. The international studies major spent a year in Ecuador and I've posted blog entries from her previous e-mails elsewhere on this site. Check the archives.
We gathered with Maureen's brothers Sam and Brendan, her parents Roy and Kathy, Tricia and yours truly. The dinner was held June 1 at Valencia's, a favorite restaurant of ours in Berkeley.
Send me your photos and summer vacation stories so we can stay in touch.

Tim Russert and the Mercy nuns

As most of you know by know, Tim Russert, the host of NBC News' "Meet the Press," died suddenly of a heart attack on June 13.
Interestingly enough, we McCorrys have something in common with him. Russert grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and attended two Catholic grade schools, St. Bonaventure and Holy Family. Both were run by the Religious Sisters of Mercy. In his book, "Big Russ and Me," Russert wrote about one of his favorite nuns, Sr. Mary Lucille, who helped him get into a Jesuit high school, and with whom he remained friends throughout his life. On today's "Meet the Press," devoted to a special tribute to Russert, California's First Lady Maria Shriver -- also from an Irish-Catholic family and the recipient of a Jesuit education -- told of being introduced to Sr. Lucille by Russert when she was a correspondent at NBC's Washington bureau.
In the wake of our recent honor of Sr. Benedicta, Aunt Eleanor, I thought I'd add this anecdote as a reminder of how important a role the Mercy nuns played in Russert's life...as well as in all of ours.

Sr. Benedicta 90th birthday celebration

Sr. Mary Benedicta, Guest of Honor

About 30 McCorry relatives gathered in Milwaukee May 25 for a mass and family reunion in honor of the 90th birthday for Eleanor McCorry, the first of the six McCorry children born in the U.S. Eleanor, whose religious name is Sr. Mary Benedicta, turned 90 on May 21.

Also in attendance were two of her three remaining siblings, Therese Jonas and Rita McCorry, Sr. Mary Acquinice. Betty Schield was not able to attend. Brother Dan McCorry and sister Mary Mullins (my mom) passed away in 1993 and 1995, respectively.Sarah, Michael and Peter Jonas
were among the attendees

The ceremony was held at Robert's, a bar/restaurant on Milwaukee's south side where my brother Joe works. It began with a mass, followed by a luncheon, lots of photos and lots of time to catch up with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandchildren not seen in years. Pat Werth flew in from California and her sister Wendy Smail from Colorado. Bill, Tricia and I flew in from California.
Joe gave a toast to the guest of honor, which is included here:

Joe Mullins

[In 1986] we celebrated Sr. Benedicta’s Jubilee at St Catherine’s in Milwaukee. The theme that day was “Faith and Family”. Today we gather to celebrate your 90^th Birthday as Family, and also as the Family of God. I took a little time to look up some definitions and quotes of “Faith” and “Family”.

Faith is a belief, a conviction, a sureness. Faith is hope. Faith is an instinct, for it precedes all outward instruction. Faith is our response to the beckonings of the eternal. Faith is the soul riding at anchor. Faith is God felt by the heart, not by reason.

Family is a clan, a tribe, relations. Family is siblings, children, a brood (and being Irish- Catholic, we all know what that is about). Family is one of nature’s masterpieces. Family is the miniature commonwealth upon which the greater commonwealth depends.

Family is the we of me.

Pope John XXIII once said, “Family is the first and essential cell of human society.”

The 23^rd grandchild of our family, my brother John wrote at age 8, “A Family is a community that is loyal to each other. When a person has a birthday, everyone is happy. If someone goes to war, everyone sends him a letter, and when someone goes out, everyone says goodbye.”

It is your Faith, and as a member of our family, you have helped sustain our Faith all these years. You are our Rock, our shining beacon in the darkness. You have traveled to many places, but your Spirit has and always will remain with us.

Happy Birthday

Group photo

I've included some photos of the event but more can be found at The Kodak EasyShare Web site. The URL is a little long to post here so e-mail me at mullico@gmail.com if you want to see it.