Mary Lucy (Varao) Martin, 79, of Dartmouth died Thursday March 8, 2007 at St. Luke's Hospital after a brief illness. She was the wife of Matthew Martin; they had been married for 57 years.
Born in Dartmouth, she was the daughter of the late Jose M. and Sophie (Carvalho) Varao.
Mary was educated in the Dartmouth Schools and graduated from Dartmouth High School. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was happiest when she had her family gatherings and all her children, grandchildren, and their spouses were there for her to wait on. Her hobby was cake decorating, which she also baked for friends and family and on occasion for special orders and weddings. Mary was also an accomplished florist who had her own floral shop, The Flower Basket in Dartmouth.
Mary was an active member of the St. Vincent dePaul Society, serving as treasurer of the S.V.D.P. Salvage Center which distributed clothing to the poor of the community. She received the Top Hat award from the Society for her devoted years of service. She was a communicant of St. Mary's Church, where she served as a Eucharistic Minister and was a member of the Ladies Guild. She also donated many hours to her parish assisting at fairs and with the booster club.
Mary also volunteered her time at Coastline Elderly where she was assigned to clients who needed assistance with budgeting their finances. She had also been a volunteer poll worker during town elections.
She had a passion for gardening, especially vegetable gardening which had to have tomatoes and string beans, with some parsley and bell peppers.
Survivors include her husband; three children, Michael Martin and his wife Gail of St. Petersburg, FL, Susan Pierce and her husband Kyle and Patricia Magellan and her husband Robert, all of Dartmouth; a brother, John Varao of Falmouth; a sister, Anna Varao of Fairhaven; her son-in-law, Victor M. Carreiro of Fairhaven; nine grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
She was the mother of the late Dolores V. Carreiro, and the sister of the late Manuel, Antone, Joseph, Sophie, and Sr. Juvina Varao.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10 AM in St. Mary's Church, South Dartmouth. Burial will follow at Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne. Visiting hours will be Monday from 4-8 PM in Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, 783 Dartmouth St., Dartmouth, MA. 02748. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.