Mary

Mary had been a sickly child, with complications from scarlet fever. She was not expected to live a normal (or long) life. Mary was very religious, based on a strict Baptist upbringing by her mother. Her father, though officially Irish Catholic, didn’t interfere in the religious training of his five children by his wife, my grandmother, Frances.

Despite, or perhaps because of her upbringing, Mary had a visitation from her maternal grandfather on the night of his death in 1935. He died while working when he fell from a tall ladder. He worked in construction and had his own business. That night, while Mary slept, she claims that she was awakened by his ghost standing at the foot of her bed and telling her not to worry, that everything would be alright. She had been close to her grandparents, having spent much time with them as a young child.

Her father, Al (Albert Vivian), worked for the MTA (Massachusetts Transit Authority as a trolley driver). He used to take her all over Boston, to the Art Museum, the Public Library, and to the Boston Yacht Club, where he was a member – he loved and had boats his whole life. At the Yacht Club, he would play piano and Mary would sing with him all the old Irish tunes and the other popular songs of the day. She developed a keen love of music during this time. She even wanted to become an opera singer but apparently didn’t have a powerful enough voice. At least, that’s how she put it to me.

After high school, Mary went to art school, where she studied fashion illustration, voice, and violin. Her father had taught her to play the piano as well. But she didn’t finish her schooling. She dropped out and married Ted instead. It’s my understanding that she met him while working in a department store (I don’t remember which one, but might have been Filene’s), coloring photographs for the in-store photographer, as photos were black and white and sepia tone in those days. There were no Polaroids, digital cameras, or cell phones then, and Kodachrome and Ektachrome film were not widely available at the time either.

–LE