Mary P. Thorpe

Mary P. Thorpe, 77, of Pensacola, FL passed away Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Mary was born August 15, 1940 in Philadelphia, PA to Charles H. & Mary E. (nee, Ryan) Purdy. Mary's life can best be described as serving others with great love. As a single mom she brought up three sons. She then pursued a career working as an administrative assistant at Giattina Fisher Aycock a top architecture firm in Birmingham, AL. While working, she also managed to get her college degree from Samford University. Then in 1996 she took on two step children, Jennifer and Sean Thorpe. She also gave up her career to move to Pensacola with her husband Nick. In Pensacola she worked as an administrative assistant in the Social Work Department at UWF. Since 1996, Mary has been a member of St. Paul Catholic Church. She has volunteered in various ministries including marriage preparation and preservation, Parish Twinning with St. Michael Mission in Arizona and Alpha Center, a pregnancy resource center. Mary's love of her family and her Catholic Faith has been the cornerstone of her life. Sadly in 2014 the combination of cancer, anxiety and depression caused Mary to withdraw from ministries and helping others. Many people supported her on this last difficult stage of her life. We are especially grateful to Covenant Care Hospice. Mary is preceded in death by her parents. Survivors include her loving husband, Nicholas M. Thorpe; children, Mike Ritter (Leza), Dale Ritter (Amy) and Chris Ritter (Tina); step-children, Jennifer Thorpe (Josh) and Sean Thorpe (Christine); grandchildren, Christopher, Ryanne and Paul Ritter, Destin Maulding, Billie Horowitz and Logan Thorpe; as well as her sister, Margaret Graffeo. Visitation will be 9:30am until a Rosary and Funeral Mass to begin at 10:15am Monday, April 30, 2018 at St. Paul Catholic Church with Fr. Joe Fowler celebrant. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested for Alpha Center, Inc., PO Box 10880, Pensacola, FL 32524 or Society of St. Vincent de Paul C/O St. Paul Catholic Church, 1700 Conway Dr., Pensacola, FL 32503.