Mary Scullion, or “Gooey” as she was known to all, was an amazing woman. Born in Long Island City, she and her younger sister Rita grew up in the Bobby Socks, Do Wopp Rock and Roll era. She loved music and was an expert in naming tunes in one or two notes, as anyone who ever played a game of “encore” against her knew!
She was a member of the Roller Derby, an active sports enthusiast (Go Mets), and when her country called a member of the Woman’s Marine Corps Reserve.
As a young woman, she met her soul mate and best friend, whom she later married. Together, Mary and her husband Jim moved to Jackson Heights where she would give birth to four children.
Mary was a tough one too. When widowed in 1978 after her husband
died of cancer, she persevered. Raising her children on her own. Where ever she went she was loved, a hard worker and a resourceful person there was no job or task that was beneath her or not completed to its fullest.
After working as a clerical assistant in several hospitals, Mary eventually began working for the Fire Department of the City of New York as an assistant in the “tool room”. This is the group that is responsible for the entire City. It became “Mary’s Place”, as anyone who visited there would attest to. After the terrorist attack on our City on September 11, 2001, she worked countless hours helping to rebuild and re-equip the largest fire department in the world.
She was proud of what she did, and we were proud to call her mom. In later years, after retiring from the fire department, Mary relocated to Brewster and made many more friends. She may have left us physically on New Year’s Eve, but her guidance, lessons and warmest memories shall remain with her children, grandchildren and all who knew her.