Mary's Struggle

Mary is a caregiver by nature. The comfort of her family, friends and guests always takes priority. "Let me get you tea. Coffee? Water? Can I take your coat? Just let me get you some water," she insisted. Raised with nine brothers, Mary admits her youth was a challenge but it shaped her into the caring, supportive and oftentimes stubborn person she is today.

When Mary met her husband, she met her match. He was a baker at a restaurant. Mary walked in and he immediately asked her for a date. He even informed her they would marry some day. “I cursed him out and told him he was a crazy person,” she informed unapologetically. They were married within two years.

Mary and her husband made a great team. She worked as a glassmaker, so her husband often cooked dinner. When he wasn’t in the kitchen, he took neighborhood children to school and brought them home as a service to his friends and neighbors. “He was amazing. I loved him. I loved my job. It was just good," Mary smiled.

Mary and her husband wanted children of their own. They were elated to learn Mary was pregnant, but they soon lost the baby. In the years that followed, they experienced the same devastation twice more. They were distraught, but grateful for one another and the nieces and nephews they were lucky to have. When one of her nieces needed help, Mary took her in as her own. “I was really strict with her sometimes, but someone had to keep everyone in line.”

One evening, Mary’s husband suffered a fatal heart attack. Recalling the painful memory, Mary stopped short. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes as if to visualize the scene.

“He clutched his chest and I called for help. His eyes stayed fixed on me. After what seemed like an eternity, he looked at me and said ‘Mary, I don’t want to leave you. But I have to go.’ A few seconds later, his face was so peaceful. I knew he was resting comfortably then.”

After 35 years of marriage to her companion and best friend, Mary was alone. Mary has survived a heart attack, open heart surgery and struggles daily with severe arthritis in her hip. Her once-busy home is now still. The voices on her television share her days.

But Mary keeps the memories nearby so she can recall the happier days. "I had a good life," she whispers more to herself than to me.

Jolted back to the present, she opens her eyes widely. "I didn’t offer you anything to eat. Do you want something? What can I get you?"

Mary spent her life caring for others. Now Citymeals delivers a meal and a friendly visit to care for her. Help Citymeals deliver to Mary and so many other neighbors who so desperately rely on us.