Mary Anne Mozden passed away Tuesday, August 20, 2013 while at home with her family by her side. She was 85.
Mary was born in Palmer, MA on January 15, 1928, daughter of Italian immigrants Charles and Frances Barone. She attended school there and graduated from Palmer High School. Mary started her lifetime career of nursing when she attended Bay State Nursing School from which she graduated in 1949. She excelled in this profession for the next 48 years of her life.
She married her husband, Joseph Peter Mozden on September 3, 1951. They had been married for 56 years at the time of his death in 2008. They started their lives together in Elyria, Ohio where Mary worked at the Elyria Memorial Hospital. In the early 1960s, they moved to Claremont, NH to be closer to their families. Mary continued her nursing career at Claremont General Hospital, which today is known as Valley Regional Hospital. She retired from nursing after 35 years at Valley Regional Hospital.
Mary is survived by her daughters Denise Anne Liveston and her husband, Thomas, of Claremont; Deborah Jean Mozden and her life partner, Robert Marvin, of Unity; her sons Joseph P. Mozden, Jr. and his wife Catherine of Geneva, IL; Peter Charles Mozden of Somersworth, NH; and, her four grandchildren Thomas “TJ” Liveston Jr., Joseph Mozden III, Jake Mozden and Sarah Mozden.
She is also survived by her three sisters Rose Smith of Charleton, MA, Carol Murphy of Charleton, MA, and Frances Barone of Palmer, MA.
She was preceded in death by her sister Ann Hagerty and her brothers Joe and Charles Barone.
Friends may call at the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad St. in Claremont on Friday, September 13, 2013 from 4:00PM to 7:00PM
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 A.M. on Saturday, September 14th at St. Joseph's Church in Claremont. Interment will follow at Union Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Turning Points Network, formerly Women’s Supportive Services, 11 School Street, Claremont, NH 03743 or Connecticut Valley Home Care Hospice, 958 John Stark Highway, Newport, NH 03773.
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Mary grew up in Palmer, Massachusetts as the youngest in a family of seven children. Though raised by Italian immigrants, she actually never learned to speak Italian. It was a parental rule that all the children would only speak English because they were living in America– as such the language was lost. However, Mary would say it had more to do with ensuring the parents could talk openly in Italian without the children understanding them. One of her favorite childhood memories was squishing grapes barefoot to help her father make the family wine. One of her least favorite childhood memories was feeding the chickens as they always attacked her when she entered the coop.
After graduating from Palmer High School, Mary attended nursing school at Bay State College in Springfield, MA. It was there that her abilities to make quick informed decisions and her overall toughness allowed her to excel in nursing, especially for emergency room and operating room procedures. In addition to working at the Elyria Memorial Hospital while she lived in Ohio, she also “moonlighted” as an office nurse for Dr. Willard for several years. After moving to Claremont, she started her long association with Valley Regional Hospital; she nursed in every ward and department, moved on to become the Intensive Care Supervisor, and ultimately the Director of the Emergency Department - the role that she enjoyed the most. She transitioned from the ER to help create the Infectious Control Department at Valley Regional Hospital, where she focused on policy development and implementation, as well as community education until her retirement. She was also the school nurse at St. Mary’s Grammar School during the 1960’s.
Mary was an active member of the Claremont Community. She was a communicant and active parishioner of St. Joseph’s Church. She was an energetic member of both the Claremont Area AARP and the Claremont Senior Center. In these organizations she held various roles including board member, social coordinator and secretary. She described her involvement as “keeping her running around and active.” Mary was blessed with many strong friendships, some of them lifelong.
In retirement, Mary enjoyed being with her kids and especially her grandchildren. She was often quoted as saying “if I had known my grandchildren would be so much fun, I would have had them first.” While her husband, Joe, was living they enjoyed traveling with family, going on AARP excursions and attending Joe’s WWII infantry reunions. Mary enjoyed quilting with a group of friends known as the “Pins and Needles” as well as, knitting lap blankets for the sick. Ever the nurse, she also spent much of her time researching medical issues for friends and family members. She was the family “go to” person for all things medical. She will be dearly missed.