Obituary of Mary R. Hughes

Mary Rita (McDonald) Hughes, 94, of Beacon Falls, CT, died March 21, 2009, in her home surrounded by family members. Born on February 27, 1915, in Bridgeport, CT, she was the firstborn of six children to Warren and Anna (Dawson) McDonald.

She spent her early years in Lowell, MA, but returned to Bridgeport, CT, and graduated from Warren Harding High School. She then graduated in 1936 from St. Vincent's School of Nursing; she worked as an operating room nurse at St. Vincent's Hospital in Bridgeport. She married William P. Hughes on December 27, 1941, and continued to nurse at the Remington Arms Company during World War II. After the end of the war, she raised a family on Silver Lane in Bridgeport. In 1965, after the death of her husband, she returned to nursing and managed the St. Mary's Convalescent Home in Trumbull. At the age of 70, she retired to reside with her daughter, Maureen Martinelli, first in Huntington, and then in Beacon Falls. Throughout her life, Mary possessed a boundless love for her family and an unshakeable faith in God that strengthened throughout her life. She took great delight and interest in the lives of her family and knew no greater content than being in their presence. She was dearly loved and will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, William P. Hughes, in 1965, she is survived by her five children: William D. Hughes and his wife Barbara of Rindge, NH; Maureen Martinelli of Beacon Falls, CT; Thomas P. Hughes of Oxford, CT; Rory J. Hughes and his wife MaryLu of Vienna, West Virginia; and Dermot A. Hughes and his wife Pam, of North Chittenden, Vermont. A sole surviving sister, Eileen Craddock, resides in Virginia. She also leaves 13 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. 

Funeral Services will take place on Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. from the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull and at 11:00 a.m. in St. Catherine of Siena Church, Trumbull for a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow in the St. Michael Cemetery, Stratford. Friends and relatives may call on Wednesday morning from 9:15 a.m. until the time of service. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Connecticut Hospice, 270 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030.