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1926
2016
Mary Strauss Chalkley, 89, of Damascus, Maryland, passed away on October 10, 2016, in the comfort of her home after a battle with metastatic melanoma.
Mary was born on December 11, 1926, in Brooklyn, New York, to Helen (nee McEvoy) and Joseph Strauss. She graduated from St. Brendan's Diocesan High School for Girls in 1944.
Upon graduation from high school, she worked for Shell Oil Company at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan. In April 1947, while traveling across country by train with her family, she met Marine sergeant, David William Chalkley, enroute to his new duty station in California. They were married in Brooklyn, December 27, 1947. Her devotion to her husband and their eight children filled her life with joy and adventure. They celebrated their 60th anniversary on December 27, 2007. Mary expressed many times how grateful she was to be able to travel to many faraway and nearby places, including: Israel, Greece, Italy, France, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, California, and Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Carlsbad, and Grand Canyon National Parks. At home, one of Mary's favorite pleasures was meeting with her friends and fellow walkers each weekday morning at Lake Forest Mall. Mary loved her friends at St. Paul Catholic Church and enjoyed getting together with her lady friends at The Music Cafe after Sunday morning Mass.
She is survived by her twin sister, Margaret McDermott, of North Babylon, NY; four daughters: Christine Chalkley of Damascus, Clare Josaitis (Bob), Eileen Wardwell and Ellen Lara of Gooding, Idaho; and three sons: John (Donna) of Alexandria, Virginia; William (Cindy) of Jacksonville, North Carolina; and Robert (Nan) of Frederick, 12 grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her brother, Franklin Strauss (1924-2004), a son, Edward (1963-1968) and her husband, David (1924-2008).
Friends are invited to visit the family at St. Paul Catholic Church, 9240 Damascus Road, Damascus, Maryland, from 12:00 until 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Memorial services will commence at 1:00 p.m. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Inurnment will occur at Quantico National Cemetery, Quantico, Virginia, at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
Online condolences may be offered at www.molesworthwilliams.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Sponsored by Molesworth-Williams P.A. Funeral Home - Damascus.
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