Mary Ann McCorry 'Taught us to enjoy life to the fullest'

The stained-glass window at St. Peter the Great Church in Quincy

Sorry it took so long to post this but I was traveling last week and when I got back I had a number of tech events to cover in Silicon Valley.

I traveled to Quincy, Ill., with my brother Bill and sister Mary for the May 17^th memorial service for our dear Aunt Mary Ann McCorry who died April 16 at age 89. She would have turned 90 on May 22, which also happens to be my birthday. Other relatives in attendance were Aunt Teresa Jonas, her son Michael and daughter Mary (Jonas) Groth. Representing the Schields was David Schield. Neither of the nuns could make it, unfortunately.

Dan McCorry delivered the eulogy, at St. Peter the Great church in Quincy and did a great job of portraying his mother as the lively and loving wife, mother, grandmother, etc. “who taught us all to ENJOY life to the fullest—every day.” Here are a few excerpts:

“Mother was a woman of faith.  We remember her leading us in saying an evening rosary as we grew up… she continued to recite the rosary with and for our grandchildren… and she religiously prayed the rosary every morning for us all.

“Family was her most precious treasure.  She would allow the housework to lapse in favor of spending more time with the family… especially when Dad was away on long business trips when we were young.  She took us on family picnics after Mass almost every Sunday during the summertime.  She read to us as children… and as we grew older, she read to our children

“But Mother’s favorite time of the year was of course Christmas!  We have all enjoyed her almost childlike spirit at that special time of year.  From Advent calendars (she even had this year’s calendars ordered)… to 10-day countdown to Christmas candles on the kitchen table to gingerbread cutouts in the window… to cardboard toy soldiers on the hutch… to non-stop Christmas music.

“She and Dad taught us the value of education, and sacrificed a lot to send us to the some of the best schools.  Mother valued not just formal schooling, but lifelong learning.... She enrolled in local colleges here for classes in Shakespeare, art, and anything else that intrigued her and then she always shared what she learned with us and anyone else who would listen.

    “Remember her voice mail messages?  The last one on her recording machine… “A friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart … have a lovely, lovely day… and sweet dreams tonight.  Bye, bye.”  She touched our hearts…and we will always remember her love.”

Dan also mentioned her generosity and volunteerism, making sandwiches for sandbag crews who helped when the Mississippi River flooded, as a mentor for troubled children in Quincy homes, as a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader. Also the little things like slipping little love notes into her children’s school lunches. I remember her outgoing message at Christmas, “It’s not the things you do at Christmas that count, it’s the Christmas things you do all year long.”

When the service was ending at about 7:00 p.m., the priest pointed to the stained-glass window at the back of the church and noted how the setting sun had hit it at just the right moment to bring out its brilliant colors.

The attendees moved to a community room in the basement of the church for some sandwiches and beverages and for a viewing of a slide show Brian McCorry had created of photos of Mary Ann and her family over the years set to a piano rendition of “My Wild Irish Rose.” I’ll try to post the slide show to this blog if I can figure it out.

Later the party reconvened to a hotel where many of the McCorrys were staying for more reminiscing, picture-taking and some imbibing. ;) Aunt Mary Ann will be missed but these gatherings reinforce the family ties we’ve all enjoyed over the years.

Next, I’ll write about the other family gathering of Mullinses for the high school graduation of our nephew Casey George Mullins.

Robert Mullins