Mary Ann Mahan

Mary will be lovingly missed by her sister Diane Gustin of Annisqam, MA; her nephew Mike Gustin and his husband Hans Foy of Fort Lauderdale, FL; her nieces Annie Gustin of Boston, MA, Beth Gustin-Rau and her wife Cat Gustin-Rau of Norwood, MA. She will also be forever remembered by her many wonderful friends, colleagues, students and athletes she coached.

She was preceded in death by Mary Dwyer Hoyle (Mother), Frederick Harold Hoyle (Father), J. Roger Mahan (Husband) Frederick John Hoyle (Brother), Cornielia Bridget Hoyle (Dalton) (Sister-in-Law), and Kevin Clark Gustin (Brother-In-Law). Mary married the lucky J. Roger Mahan, Jr. in 1970 after a brief whirlwind courtship. Mary and Roger enjoyed 29 years of marriage until his sudden passing in 1999.

Mary was born on July 19, 1939 in Boston, MA. She graduated from Weymouth High School in 1956 and went on to attend Bridgewater State College where she graduated in 1960 with a degree in Physical Education. Mary received her Master’s degree at UNC at Greensboro and her EdD at Nova University.

After graduating college, Mary taught at Stoughton Junior High School in Stoughton, MA. She also taught at Locust Valley in Long Island, Central Connecticut University and Miami Dade Community College until her retirement in 2001. Mary was an extraordinary teacher, coach, professor and department head throughout these years.

Dr. Mahan received many awards during her distinguished academic career. She has been inducted into the Weymouth High School Hall of Fame, Bridgewater State College Hall of Fame, Florida CC Activities Committee Hall of Fame as well as many other awards too numerous to list. Mary also served on the boards of her residences and other academic institutions like Roger’s alma mater - Cheshire Academy.

Mary was generous, caring, thoughtful and she had a smile that lit up any room. She always looked like a million dollars with her large dangling earrings, stylish outfit, matching hat and coordinating shoes. Mary loved to sing, knew all the words and half the notes. Many a night, she would be the last one on the dance floor. She loved a good party.

Mary excelled at entertaining and serving delicious meals. A few of her favorite recipes and things she was crazy about were; pork roast with cherry sauce, orzo “Greek” salad, her famous cheesecake, a sausage lasagna, fried clams, lobster, grilled cheese, anything with tomato and basil and of course, her crispy chocolate chip cookies. She also loved a glass or two of Veuve Cliquot champagne on any occasion or a cup of herbal tea. She often joked “Have you ever been too upset to eat?”.

In retirement, she golfed as much as she could and traveled as often as she could from Alaska to Antarctica. She followed all the Boston sports teams, Women’s basketball both at the professional and collegiate levels. She would never miss her favorite, The Rachel Maddow Show as she kept current on the latest news.

A celebration of life for Mary is scheduled for 11:00 AM on Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, MA. Burial will be private. To watch livestream go to:

https://www.olvparish.org/livestream

In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Mary’s memory to a charity of your choice.

The family wishes to send a special thank you to the ICU staff at Cape Cod Hospital and McCarthy Care Center in Sandwich, MA for their care and compassion.