Eulogy
We are here today to remember Mary Ann Evans Burlington.
I, Patsy, am her oldest daughter but not far behind me
are Mary Lee, Sheila and Maureen . We
would all like to thank you for your presence today as we celebrate our mother’s
life.
Mary Ann Evans grew up in Montvale, NJ with loving parents , Mary and Bernard, a sister Grace and a brother
Bernard affectionately called Buster.
She was extremely bright, an excellent student and in high school was the
only girl in the Trigonometry class. She
was on the tennis and golf team and was always interested in writing. Her
father, an accountant was a graduate of Pace University and was on the board
when my mother began her studies there. She majored in Journalism and landed her
first job in NYC at the ITT. At age 21,
she married our Dad, William Burlington, who also lived in Montvale. She knew the Burlington family as our
father’s sister, Alice was my mother’s childhood friend. Her career was short
lived as she soon had four daughters and
stayed at home to raise her family in Ridgewood and later in Glen Rock.
Our mother was a stately, beautiful woman and had an
opportunity to do some modeling. One day, she saw an ad for a Miss Ridgewood
Contest and she decided to enter. She neglected to say that she was actually
Mrs and had 4 toddlers at home. She reminisced to me
one day that she never thought she would win and when she did she had to give up
her title! She continued modeling at church luncheons and even modeled with my
two daughters at their school‘s fashion show. But her passion was volunteering and she was
involved in many community programs including teaching swimming at the Y to
children with disabilities, working with the Girl Scouts, assisting the nurses
at the Valley Home Clinic in Glen Rock and chairing the Deanery Committee at St
Catharine’s . As a volunteer, she is
most remembered
for her dedication to Valley Hospital for over 40 years first as a
Gray Lady delivering flowers and later working in the emergency room.
We remember our
mother’s other “ passions”… politics, line dancing,
country music, Judge Judy, summer nights in Belmar with Bobby Byrne and
reading the Enquirer because inquiring minds need to know. Her sense of
humor always made our day and her upbeat personality made being around her such
fun. She never missed
American Idol or Seinfeld or the Academy Awards. I still remember the thrill of being invited
to “stay up” and watch with my grandmother and mother and to this day, I have
enjoyed the show every year with my mother.
And let’s not forget Mother the shopper…she would tell us
how she would send us off to school and head to Bamberger’s probably looking for
a new coat! And even when she couldn’t get to the mall, she was catalog shopping
and enjoying hunting for that perfect new outfit. We four daughters often
benefited from these shopping sprees as she would insist that we buy a “prize”. But
even with all of these interests, writing was at the top of the list.
She continued her
love of writing throughout the years in her many journals and even
self-published her memoir Life in the Past Lane. Her sons-in-laws,( Brian Deceased), Phil and Ray and her grandchildren Kelly, Kara, Julie, Jessica,
Scott, Laura, Megan, Michael , Kevin and Jill and great –grandchildren , Connor
and Hope, Ella, Owen and Teddy, Reilly, Matthew and Allyson, Jack and Lily, Mary
and William, Molly and Matthew can attest to her loving notes sent with every
birthday card with her signature yellow
smile face. With ten grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren ( and
one on the way) to remember, we marveled
at her organization. They all had a special place in her heart..she attended every college
graduation and every wedding and was
interested in all of them. Her generosity knew no bounds as she was always
treating some family member to an unexpected gift ..and
when you said it was too much, she would say, “Just say thank you”. And now it
is our turn to just say thank you, Mother for your generosity, for your love , for
the happy beach memories in Spring Lake and the care free days at the Lake with
the Evans’ and the Cassidys'. You
always were our Christmas angel and we will never forget all the special themes
that you created to make Christmas magical for your family. You loved hosting parties
and even at the end you were planning a 4th of July family reunion at
the beach. We will carry your independent spirit, your faith
,your love of family and the memories you gave to all of us in our hearts
forever.
