Shrewsbury – Mary Catherine “Mary Kay” (Fisher) Pfordresher, 93, of Shrewsbury’s Southgate Community, and formerly of Cleveland, OH, passed unexpectedly on Saturday, March 5, 2022, at UMASS Memorial Medical Center – University Campus. Her beloved husband of 55 years, the late John R. Pfordresher, passed in 2008, along with their son, Raymond J. Pfordresher, who passed in 2010.
Mary met John Pfordresher at Catholic University in Washington DC where they were students: Jack studied architecture on the GI Bill and Mary was in the graduate school of social work. They graduated, married on June 27, 1953 (he called her his “Honey Girl”) and enjoyed 55 years together until Jack’s death in 2008. Together they had five children, ten grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
She leaves her loving daughters: Catherine “Kate” Pfordresher and her husband James Moore, Elizabeth “Betsy” Pfordresher-LaPlace and her husband Steven, Anne Stanton and her husband Eric, and Jeanne Pfordresher and her husband Russell Robertson; her daughter-in-law, Jennifer Pfordresher; her grandchildren: Hannah Pfordresher Patel, of Chicago, IL, Daniel Pfordresher, of Brooklyn, NY, John Ray Pfordresher, of Galapagos, Ecuador, Alexander Pfordresher, of Uxbridge, MA, Emma Shumeyko, of Washington, DC, Noah Pfordresher, of Galapagos, Ecuador, Jacob Stanton, of Providence, RI, Laura Stanton, of East Lansing, MI, Lucia Robertson, and Alton Robertson, both of Brooklyn, NY; her great-grandchildren, Graham, Penelope, Zayd, Isla Grace, Charlotte Poppy, and Thomas; her siblings, Fred Fisher and Joan McGuire; along with several nieces and nephews. Mary Kay was also predeceased by her brother, Daniel Fisher, and their parents, Frederick and Catherine (Derrig) Fisher.
After graduating with a Masters in social work, Mary focused on raising children in Park Ridge, Illinois. She led a local Girl Scout troop, Great Books discussions for children, helped start a Montessori school and raised ten Dalmatian puppies. In the early 1970s, she returned to social work at Children Hospital in Columbus and served as deputy director for the Cuyahoga County Mental Health Board between 1974 and 1986.
After retirement, Mary and Jack hosted their “Camp Grandma” for their grandchildren during summers at their home in University Heights, Ohio where they were active members of Gesu Catholic Church. After Jack’s death in 2008, she moved to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to be near her son Raymond, his wife Jenny and their children. Mary lived at Southgate where she stayed active with painting classes, made new friends, and served as a Eucharistic minister. Mary regularly spent winter months in St. Thomas, VI with her daughter Betsy and husband Steven.
Relatives, friends, and neighbors are invited to gather to celebrate Mary Kay’s funeral Mass on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 1:00 PM in St. Mary’s Church, 640 Main Street, Shrewsbury. Burial will be held at a later date in Cleveland.
The Britton-Shrewsbury Funeral Home is honored to be assisting with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, the family recommends donations in her memory to Catholic Relief Services, P.O. Box 17090, Baltimore, MD 21297-0303 (www.crs.org/ways-to-give).
