Mary MacLeod Obituary

To the Family of Mary Elizabeth:
It is with sadness and embarrassment to learn of M.E.'s passing after the fact. She and 'Bub' have been thought of fondly as my brother-John, Sister-Anne, and I would remember old times on the East Side at Ewing Avenue. (Except for those flu shots).
We extend our heartfelt sympathies to you all.
Love, Jim Anne and John McArdle

To All of Manga's Loved Ones,

You have my deepest sympathy. Losing a loved one is painful. But I believe she will remain in your hearts as she will in mine. One could not hope for a better friend. She will be missed but she is now free of pain and earthly trials. I will never forget her. She was a "support system" for me for a long time.
Take care and God bless.

Virgilin Stenson
(Virgie)

So now what?

We Northside Murray's try our best to uphold the Catholic traditions. We are serving at 100% when it comes to the sacraments, so the foundation is there. However, I've definitely got some room for improvement.

If the BIG GUY was ever to release a wiretap of my nightly prayers (and by BIG GUY I do not mean Patrick Fitzgerald), here is what you would hear:

"Dear God, Please bless and keep Susan, Maggie, Ali and Tessa...and then ditto to whatever you and Manga were talking about. Thanks. Amen."

Losing Manga from your prayer network feels like losing Michael Jordan to professional baseball. You just cannot make up those points. Sure, I've got a May Crowner wife on my bench, but come on, she can't score consecutive rosaries.

And yes, my daughters have earned their school's "Peacekeeper" award for being good little Catholic girls. But how can you compete with a woman who truly believes that you should not remove a pebble from your shoe, YET should offer it up to the Lord?

CASE CLOSED. BIBLE SHUT. MANGA WINS!

Truth be told, the world does seem a little scarier with her gone. Even as a kid, I always thought that her prayers were like a protective forcefield over the Justice League of America. (Strangely enough, I likened myself to Aquaman even though I almost drowned twice [Thanks, Mike and Lisa] and couldn't swim a lick.) Manga's piety was superhuman. It meant that I could push the limit of naughtiness because Manga would always be there with her Cape of Prayer and Forgiveness to make things all better.

A WONDER WOMAN who served us WONDER BREAD! Maybe that rosary was her LASSO of TRUTH?

Back on Manga's 90th birthday, I wrote a poem to honor the milestone. In it, I reminisced about many things that make Manga, Manga. Things like:

* Her unyielding devotion to Bub
* Her loving dedication as mother to Sid, Ruth and my Mom
* The second nature of her grandmotherly duties...cooking us Scotch Broth, washing our hair as we lie on an ironing board over her basement sink (OUCH, MANGA!)

The more I thought about how these traits defined Manga as Manga, I realized that they in turn define me as me, Liz as Liz, Megan as Megan, and so on down the line. She is in all of us, something that makes me not only proud, but blessed.

My poem end...

The brightest light that I see shining from back in the day
Is the pure love of a true mother and wife.
Mary MacLeod is my grandmother and nightly I pray
As thanks to God for giving her life.

My sibs and I sometimes worry about Mary Mac'...
She's got the weight of the world on her shoulders.
This world could use a few more Atlas-like backs
And we should all be that strong when we're older.

Manga, thanks for all of your selfless virtue.
I never once saw your life-light dimmin'.
And it is quite very simply because of you
That I respect and admire all women.

I LOVE YOU MANGA.
REST EASY.
NO MORE WORRIES.

Ruth and Sid ,
Our deepest sympathy to you and your families on the death of Mary. She was a Class Act, and Mary was the most thoughtful, beautiful woman ever. She cared so much for everyone and had endless love.
You are all in our prayers.