Mary Theresa Rubino

The first word that comes to mind when I think about my mom is faithful. The Googled meaning is, “unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances; true to one’s word, promises, vows; steady in allegiance or affection; constant”. Anyone who really knew my mom, would agree that these descriptors are on point.

Mary Corso Rubino was faithful as a daughter to her father, Salvatore. Through his divorce from my grandma Rosaria, which was scandalous in the late 1930s, my mother remained steadfast in her love for him. Mom was faithful to her mother, Sara, and her stepfather John Euvino. Their visits to our Miami home gave our family insight into our heritage, and examples of pure faith and adoration of family and more so our Catholic faith.

My mother Mary was a faithful wife to her husband Salvatore Rubino. The two met after being fixed up by a cousin and not long afterwards were married in 1948. She adored my father and was a faithful loving wife to him until his untimely death in 1981. When I was seven years old I remember that mom argued with dad to get a job and alleviate some of the pressure he felt to support a family of five during that time. I remember my mom grocery shopping and challenging every check out clerk about the price of (insert name of grocery item here). Yet, there was always some extra money to faithfully host a rocking New Year’s Eve party for friends and family.

Mary was faithful to her children Vincent (born exactly 9 months after her wedding to Sal Sr.- everyone counted that very carefully), Sal Jr. born two years later and then me 11 years after. She faithfully took us kids to sports practice, reviewed spelling and times tables with us, doctors’ visits, the beach, and many other memory making activities. That is not to say that she was perfect. Our mother had a Sicilian redhead’s temper. God help you if you pushed her to her limit.

Mary was a faithful cook and held a Sunday family (and often friends) dinner. Her sauce went on the stove early in the morning after church. Dad and us kids would grab a piece of Italian bread when she wasn’t looking and take a big wooden spoonful of sauce to soak in the bread just to “taste it”. If we got caught, you could bet we’d get chased out of the kitchen by the 4 ft. 11 in. screaming Sicilian. Usually with pointer finger clenched in her mouth to stifle words that she might later regret. As one of our dear friends Bill Rose said, “She was like a Military General in her kitchen.”

Mom was faithful to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She proudly displayed their pictures around her home and exercised her right to brag at the drop of a hat.

She was a faithful servant to people around her, volunteering at Baptist Hospital to knit baby caps for newborns or sell items to new moms from the volunteer cart. Mom worked during elections as she saw it as part of her patriotic duty to help get people to vote. She was a Kennedy girl and part of the ladies auxiliary of the American Legion.

Mom was faithful to her friends, always arranging for an outing to the movies and dinner or playing a game of Bunco. Dementia’s cruel tentacles took that joy away. Yet, in some of her lucid moments, she would ask to call the friends she always cherished. Some things don’t change!

When it is my time to “go upstairs” (as mom said on her 95th birthday). I hope that my eulogy theme will be GRATEFUL. As I have been blessed by my mom and family with a wonderful life and sense of security, pride and most of all, faithful LOVE.

A visitation for Mary will be held Tuesday, April 5, 2022 from 5:00 PM to 11:59 PM at Caballero Rivero Woodlawn South, 11655 SW 117 Ave, Miami, Florida 33186. A funeral service will occur Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 1:00 PM at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 14187 SW 72 St, Miami, Florida 33183. A burial will occur Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 2:30 PM at Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery, 11141 NW 25 St, Doral, Florida 33172.