Mary L. Manion

HERKIMER – Mrs. Mary Louise Manion, 99, passed away on December 14, 2020 at Little Falls Hospital.

She was born on July 20, 1921, in the Bronx a daughter of the late Edward and Margaret Jackson Lyons.  Orphaned at the age of thirteen, Mary and her two brothers, Edward and John, were taken in by their aunt and uncle, the Curran family.  She was a graduate of Bayridge High School and attended the College of Mt. Saint Vincent.

In the summer of 1943, she was employed as a camp counselor in Plattsburg.  While riding a bus on the way to church, a young ROTC cadet sat next to her.  He asked her to a dance and soon thereafter asked for her hand in marriage.  Herkimer native George D. Manion and Mary Lyons were married in the Bronx on July 13, 1943.  It was a whirlwind romance that lasted until George's untimely passing on August 20, 1982.

At one time Mary was employed by the Herkimer Central School system as well as the Ilion Central School.  She was a communicant of St. Francis deSales Church Herkimer.  An active volunteer with Meals on Wheels, Mary also loved her time volunteering at St. Francis deSales School as one of the original "Hot Dog Ladies".  She was an avid reader, binged on Hallmark movies and had a sweet tooth larger than a king size Hershey Bar.

Life for Mary revolved around her family.  She is survived  by Maureen 'Mikey" (Gerald) Zdyb, Patricia Zambri, Teresa (James) Greiner, Timothy Manion and Nancy (Michael) Costello, twelve grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, two sisters-in-law, Geneva Lyons and Joanne Lyons.  She was predeceased by her husband George and two brothers, Ed and John Lyons.

The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses in the Emergency Room and the third floor of Little Falls Hospital for the passion and kindness shown to Teresa and her mother during this most difficult time.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday at 11:00 am in St. Francis deSales Church, Herkimer.  The family will be present to receive relatives and friends in Fenner Funeral Home Inc., 115 Court Street, Herkimer  on Thursday morning from 9:30 am until 10:30 am.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Francis deSales Parish, 217 N. Bellinger St., Herkimer, NY 13350.

A memorial mass will take place this spring, details will be posted when available.