Mary Teresa (Hegarty) Coleman

Mary Teresa Coleman
February 11, 1929 – February 25, 2012

Our mother Mary Teresa Hegarty was born on February 11, 1929 in Somerville, Massachusetts to first generation Irish American parents, Jeremiah Hegarty and Catherine "Kitty" Lee. She was their 3rd child and the 1st girl raised in this humble, hardworking, and honest family.

Our mother Mary was born at a time when many world events and many "firsts" were occurring: it marked the end of the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as the 31st President. We were introduced to color TV when the very first images transmitted were a bouquet of roses and an American Flag. 1929 gave us the 1st Academy Awards in Hollywood, and Admiral Byrd and his crew became the first to fly over the South Pole. Finally, Mussolini agreed to recognize the sovereign status of the Vatican under Pope Pius XI.

While all of these events had worldwide significance, in our opinion, none could compare to the impact Mary Teresa made on our world with her precious smile, her gentle spirit, and her perpetual love for family and friends.

Mary lived in Somerville her entire childhood. She was raised in a family of 5 children - James, Francis, Paul, and Ann. Her extended family consisted of the Lee clan – her Irish born grandparents James and Hanora, Aunt Mary who was almost as close to Mary Teresa as her own mother, Aunt Margie, and her Uncles Joe, Bill, Tom, and David. Aunt Mary used to take our mother to NY for day trips and she sent her to summer camp in Billerica which helped her grow up with positive childhood experiences. Mary was a diligent student and an extremely proud graduate of St. Clements High School. On the back of the program you received today, you will see our mother's high school graduation photo which shows how very beautiful and poised she was as a young woman. After high school, she worked at an administrative job in Boston, and she immensely enjoyed the company of many dear friends as they danced, went to fun beach parties, and took day trips to see the world outside of MA.

One Friday evening in 1948, Mary met her soul-mate Frank Coleman when he asked her to dance and she said yes. It was not too long afterwards that they fell in love and married on April 15, 1950. It was a time when the Korean War was underway, and not very long after they married, our father was drafted and sent off overseas to fight in the war. With Frank away, the Coleman's invited her to move into their household, and it was during this time that she developed strong lifelong relationships with my father's parents Dennis and Margaret, his Aunt Annie, and siblings Anna, Eddie, Florence, Richie, and Sonny.

Mary gave birth to her firstborn child, Francis Junior, and soon after came Carole, Nancy, and Diane. What a household we had! Music, trips to Cape Cod, summer camps, vacations pulling a travel trailer around the country, and most importantly great emphasis on school, education, church, and family time together. Our mother was a devout Catholic and she ensured we were raised with spirituality and faith.

Our mother and father, Frank and Mary, always had time for each other and their marriage lasted for 60 years. Despite the challenge of raising 4 children, they enjoyed world travels together to Aruba, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, and all over the USA and Canada. One year back in the 1970's, Mary took a trip to Ireland with the "girls" and came home with many memorable stories to tell us.

Trying to recap the essence of our mother is easy to do – she was truly a saint in all ways. She loved her family and friends unconditionally. She never had a bad word to say about anyone and she would tell us "if you can't say something good about someone, don't say anything at all." She was extremely generous of her time and attention to making others happy. Mary was an exemplary hostess and cook and loved having gatherings at home with lots of wonderful food and music. She played the organ for many years and we would always listen to her play holiday songs, from Christmas carols to Fourth of July songs! In later years, she switched to the piano then even played the banjo! She never took music lessons; she always said that she played by her ear. And, could she play! She opened her home and her heart to all she loved. It was not about impressing anyone – she just truly loved having dear ones over to enjoy being together. This carried over into our adulthood as we continued to hold family gatherings and we vacationed together for many years – Aruba, AZ, TX, and most of all at their home on Cape Cod. Our Mom and Dad loved it when there was a houseful of people at their home in South Dennis. We would have big surf & turf dinners out back on their patio, drink beer and smoke cigars – although Mary did not like lobster, beer or the cigars, she did enjoy watching us indulge and then she'd suggest we get a Smuggler's ice cream for dessert!

Our mother Mary was the quiet strength of our family – she was content to sit in the background while others took center stage but she was never a shadow. When she voiced her opinion, we all listened, including my father! She never complained about anything. Even when she was suffering with many ailments in her later years, you would never hear anything but "Oh I am ok don't worry about me…" She had the gentlest of spirits and the biggest heart of us all.

Mary loved her grandchildren – Michael, Bryan, Matthew, Kathryn and Christina, and her great-grandchildren Ethan and Charlie. She was so very proud of each and everyone and loved them more than they ever knew. In these grandkids, she saw nothing but their very best attributes and she always encouraged them to get a good education and be happy in life. Mary also loved her children's spouses – Joe, Richard, Diane, and Robert – and she was a great role model for us all as a spouse and mother with her grace, ability to go with the flow, and really enjoy all the happy times life brings our way.

When her husband Frank, our father, passed away in February 2010 at the age of 83, our mother was absolutely heartbroken and she could never really recover from her immense grief. We could feel her sadness and pain although again she never complained. Our hearts broke as we saw her decline but her spirit never diminished. We truly believe that she went to bed on February 24th with thoughts of her beloved Frank. With her arm outstretched, she must have been reaching for the light of his spiritual presence as she transitioned into death. Our hearts now have a hole which cannot be filled but we are truly comforted by knowing that she passed peacefully and into our father's arms.

There is an old Irish Blessing which says it all:

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
.
God Bless you Mom – we love you always and may you rest in eternal peace with Dad.

Mary's Funeral will be held from the Eaton Funeral Home 1351 Highland Ave Needham on Friday March 2nd at 9:30 AM followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Joseph Church at 10:30 AM. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held on Thursday from 4-7 PM. Interment will take place at the Massachusetts national Cemetery in Bourne on Friday afternoon at 1:30 PM.

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