Obituary of Mary M. DeFrancesco

Mary M. DeFrancesco of Florida, NY, entered into rest on Monday, February 23, 2015 at home. She was 77. The daughter of the late Jean & Anna Pateracki DeFrancesco, she was born on September 29, 1937 in New York City. Mary was the matriarch of our family. She never had children of her own, and instead dedicated her life to help raise her siblings, nieces and nephews. It's as if she was born into the role of motherhood, and that role never stopped, never took a break, and she was happy there, because we were happy. She was selfless. She was brave. Even at the end, she never quit. She could never stop caring for us. She is survived by her two sisters; Jean McWilliams & Edith Horton; nieces and nephews, John & Erin; Laura, Christina & Rich; Paul & Alisha; great nieces and nephews, Nick, Alex, Emma, William and Ava. She is further survived by many loving nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. She was predeceased by 4 sisters, Paula, Carolyn, Annamarie & Senzia; 2 brothers, Vincent & Lawrence. Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 1st from 2-4 & 7-9PM at T.S. Purta Funeral Home, 22 Glenmere Avenue, Florida, NY 10921. A funeral mass will be held 10AM Monday, March 2nd at St. Joseph Church, 22 Glenmere Ave., Florida, NY 10921. Burial will be in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Orange & Sullivan Counties, Inc., 800 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550.