BIDDEFORD — Mary Anne Mariello, 95, of Biddeford, passed away at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House on Jan. 5, 2019.
She was born in Biddeford, Maine on Oct. 1, 1923, a daughter of John and Angelina (Montecalvo) Mariello.
She attended Biddeford public schools and graduated from Biddeford High School in 1940. In the yearbook, she listed her ambition was to become a Medical Secretary. Mary actually became an “over-achiever.” She traveled a long road of educational success and leadership in the nursing field.
During World War II, the United States Cadet Nurse Corps was established. Its purpose was to ensure the country had enough nurses to care for citizens at home and abroad. As part of the Corps, Mary was accepted at Maine General Hospital (Maine Medical Center) Training School for Nurses in Portland. She graduated in 1948 as a Registered Nurse and became an Operating Room nursing instructor.
In 1950, she completed a post graduate course in Operative Aseptic Technique at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
Mary attended Boston University and received a B.S. in Nursing in 1955. At the same graduation ceremony, John F. Kennedy, then the Junior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
She worked at Mercy Hospital in Portland as a Surgical Instructor for many years. Still wanting to continue her nursing education, she went back to Boston University and received a M.S. in Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing in 1971.
Mary was employed at the University of Maine at Augusta when the first community college program was instituted there. She was involved in the development of a two-year nursing curriculum and became an Assistant Professor of Nursing and Health Sciences. She retired from UMA in 1985. She possessed a passion for teaching and her nursing students are her legacy.
As a devout “fashion plate,” she enjoyed remodeling clothes and working on other projects, such as, antiquing furniture, redecorating rooms and designing and maintaining window boxes. As a sports enthusiast, she enjoyed watching baseball, football, tennis and, in her heyday, she was an avid downhill and cross-country skier.
She was a lifelong communicant of St. Mary Church and the Good Shepherd Parish.
Mary was one of 11 siblings, seven brothers and four sisters. She was predeceased by Antonio, Lucia, Vito, Frank, Joseph, Michael, James, Anne, Nicholas and Carmella.
She is survived by a “bounty” of nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Comfort Keepers and Gosnell Memorial Hospice House of Scarborough for their compassion, kindness and guidance.
Donations in memory of Mary may be made to: Hospice of Southern Maine, 180 US Route 1, Scarborough, ME 04074.
Visitation will be from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, 2019, with a Funeral Service at 10:30 a.m. at Cote Funeral Home Chapel, 87 James St., Saco. Burial will be private in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Biddeford.
To view Mary’s memorial page or leave an online condolence, please visit www.cotefuneralhome.com
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