Shrewsbury – Mary L. (Ferrante) Longo, 86, of Shrewsbury, died Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014 after a long courageous battle with brain cancer.
She was born and raised in Shrewsbury, to Italian parents, Gaetano and Rose (DiBenedetto) Ferrante. She graduated from Shrewsbury High School.
Mary worked in the earlier years at New England Knitting Company and later was a Cake Decorating Instructor for the Adult Education Night Program for the Shrewsbury Schools. Her last employments where with BJ's Wholesale Club and Sam's Club as a Food Demonstrator.
She was well known for her smile and extraordinary talent for serving the masses, always offering recipes, and paying extra- special attention to all the little ones.
Mary also volunteered her free time to many organizations such as Seven Hills Foundation, Salvation Army, and Tri-Town Exchange Club. She was a regular fixture each year at the Spirit of Shrewsbury Fall Festival, where she could always be found helping the Molly Bish Foundation fingerprinting children and serving freshly baked cookies.
Mary was her happiest while enjoying her many hobbies, which included cooking for her family for “Toosdee” dinner, baking, spending time with friends, playing bingo, and taking those occasional side trips to the casinos in Connecticut.
She leaves her loving children, Maria M. Smith and her husband J. Thomas, Rose Ann Longo and her husband Bryant Palazzini, and James R. Longo and his wife Candace, all of Shrewsbury, and three grandchildren, Matthew and Lindsey Smith and Nicole Longo, all of Shrewsbury, and is also survived by three generations of nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her siblings, Paul Ferrante, Isabelle Depiro, and Rose Arakelian.
The family would like to give special thanks to the caring, professional staff at Beaumont Nursing Facility, Northborough, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for their exceptional care.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit with Mary's family Thursday, Aug. 21, from 5-8 p.m., in the Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home, 648 Main St., Shrewsbury. Her funeral will be Friday, Aug. 22, from the funeral home with a Mass celebrating her life at 10 a.m. in Saint Mary's Church, 640 Main St., Shrewsbury. Burial will follow in Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury.
Donations can be made in Mary's honor to help fuel the fight against cancer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215.
