Shrewsbury – Mary E. Dichele died peacefully in the arms of her devoted daughter and caregiver, Rita, Thursday, June 18, 2015 at her home in Shrewsbury. She was 91.
She was born Jan. 26, 1924 in New Britain, Conn., a daughter of the late Robert and Helen (Wotcheck) Luby. Raised and educated in Connecticut, she proudly graduated from St. Joseph College in West Hartford with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Latin. She attended college on an academic scholarship and would often boast that her athletic accomplishment was playing archery. While in college she was a champion debater and published poet. She married Louis R. Dichele May 22, 1950 at Saint Anthony Church and was married to him until his death May 25, 2005.
Mary worked as a social worker for the Department of Family Services in Hartford for 10 years and later in the Actuary Department at the Hartford Insurance Company for 14 years.
She was a voracious reader of classical literature and The New York Times was a daily read from front to back pages. She was a regular attendee of the current events group at the Shrewsbury Senior Center for many years and was a member of St. Mary’s Church.
Mary Dichele had a quick wit and contagious sense of humor. She will be remembered as often saying, ‘Do your best in the moment you are given’ and “Be yourself.” She always had something nice to say about her friends and those whom she encountered for only a short time.
She leaves her children, Rita M. Dichele, with whom she lived, Paul F. Dichele of New Marlborough, Conn., Anne M. Dichele of Delray, Fla., and Margaret M. MacIlvain of Hamden, Conn.; her grandchildren, Christopher Carrabba of New York, Nicholas Carrabba of Florida, Kate Cunningham of Massachusetts, Daniel MacIlvain of New York, and Andrea Wheeler of Rhode Island; numerous great-grandchildren; and a close friend and “other daughter,” Joni Carron of Pittsfield and Gina Joubert of Shrewsbury, who brought her the Eucharist regularly. She was predeceased by her sister, Helen Luby.
Family and friends will honor and remember Mary’s life by gathering Saturday, July 11 in Saint Mary’s Church, 640 Main St., Shrewsbury, where her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Guests are welcomed to celebrate her love for the color blue by dressing in its color for the Mass. Burial in Mount Benedict Cemetery in Windsor, Connecticut is private. There are no calling hours.
