On April 22, 2019, Mary Louise (Santora) Carney passed away suddenly. She was born on September 3, 1939 in Baltimore, Maryland. Mary Lou was the third daughter of Edward Santora and Lillian Santora, both deceased. She attended school at the Shrine of the Little Flower Parish on Belair Road, then Seton High School in Baltimore. She attended what is now Notre Dame of Maryland University before leaving to marry Robert E. Carney, Jr. of Carney, Maryland on November 19, 1960. Mary Lou raised six children in Kingsville, Maryland and, commencing in 1972, in Baldwin, Maryland as a homemaker and she later worked in the higher education field.
Her children repeatedly provided Mary Lou with “opportunities for parental excellence.” The number of car accidents, broken bones, stitches, detentions, failed efforts at running away, sibling arguments, snow angels on the garage roof, animals in the house, and the like cannot be tallied. She persevered and saw the humor in it all, though usually in hindsight. She used her compassion and respect for all persons to manage the education and development of her children into adults. She loved and was devoted to her children.
Son David recently recalled the time he tried to take a snake to school in an inadequate box and the school made Mary Lou take the snake back home despite his protests. Upon arrival at home, the snake was not in the box. The car sat in the driveway with every door and window open for quite some time thereafter until a new car was acquired. Son Bob recalls “Our brother Chris proposed an ‘amnesty day’, an opportunity for us kids to come clean on all the things we did that our parents did not know about, with forgiveness. But Mom countered ‘You just THINK we don’t know about those things.’ And we realized we were already forgiven.”
Mary Lou and Bob always impressed upon their children the importance of education. She set the example by returning to Notre Dame’s Weekend College and completing her Bachelor of Arts in 1977, while still raising their children. She then worked for the University as an adult student adviser in the Weekend College and, starting in 1992, also as coordinator for the Weekend College’s joint program with Harford Community College, a program that the Baltimore Sun described as “the first of its kind in Maryland.”
Mary Lou regularly attended services at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Hydes, Maryland and served as a Eucharistic Minister. She was an avid reader and enjoyed playing bridge with family and friends. She was a doting grandparent, particularly at Christmas. Her children often suspected that she began Christmas shopping in August. Her favorite activity was having her children and grandchildren over to the house in Baldwin to enjoy appetizers on the patio and a big dinner of sour beef and dumplings.
She is survived by five children and thirteen grandchildren – Robert F. Carney of Pasadena, MD (with wife Kimberly and daughters Marilyn, Victoria, and Haley); Anne Marie Carney of Cape Elizabeth, ME (with husband David Wennberg and children Lillian, Rosalie, and Paul); Daniel E. Carney of York, PA (with wife Michelle, children from a prior marriage children Tyler, Gabriel, Alexander, and Samantha, and step children Jonna and Jaden,); John M. Carney of Ellicott City, MD (with wife Rebecca and daughter Clara); and David E. Carney of Washington, DC (with wife Michele Sumilas and sons Thomas and John). Her husband predeceased her on March 31, 2019. She also lost son Christopher P. Carney in 2018. She is survived by her sister Joan Cary of Mt. Pleasant, SC, and her stepmother Agnes Santora and half siblings Patricia Santora, Michael Santora, Chris Dove, and Stephen Santora. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.
The family will receive friends at the Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley, Inc., 10 W. Padonia Road (at York Road) Timonium, Maryland 21093 on Thursday, April 25, 2019 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at the chapel of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, 13305 Long Green Pike, Hydes, Maryland 21082 on Friday, April 26, 2019 at 10:00 am.
All are invited to an interment at the adjoining cemetery immediately following the service and a luncheon reception thereafter.
Donations may be made in Mrs. Carney's name to St. John the Evangelist Catholic School Annual Fund at: https://stjohnschoollgv.org/giving
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