Mary E. (Holihan) Travers died July 7, 2019, in Southold after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was 92.
She was born March 24, 1927, in Manhattan to Sophia and Edward Holihan. She attended The Montessori School in Brooklyn, Bishop McDonnell High School and St. Joseph’s College for Women, then completed graduate studies at Columbia University. She went on to teach at Manual Training High School in Brooklyn. During graduate school, she worked at Claremont Academy, leading trail rides through Central Park.
In 1951, she married James F. Travers and together they raised five children.
She was involved in numerous volunteer organizations, including the American Association of University Women, where she served two terms as president of the Garden City branch; La Falaise and the Guggenheim, where she was a volunteer docent; and Southold Historical Society, for Horton Point Lighthouse, where she gave tours on Sundays for 22 years.
Family members said she led a life full of knowledge quests, fun and adventure. She lit up every room with her quick wit and vivacious personality. She devoured books and had an insatiable appreciation for the arts and travel. They said she loved to play piano, dance, cook, garden, play tennis, golf, sail, swim in Southold Bay and finish New York Times crossword puzzles. In her earlier days, she was an accomplished skier and equestrian. She loved flowers and animals, especially roses and dogs. Family members said “brightened every life she entered and her elegant style and infectious laugh were among her many distinctive hallmarks. She was very special and will be greatly missed.”
She was predeceased by her husband; her sister, Joan Wiehl and her son, James D. Travers. She is survived by her brothers, Brian (Suzanne) Holihan and Brendan (Kathleen) Holihan; in-laws Elena Travers Hancock and Thomas Wiehl Jr.; children, longtime caregiver Kathleen, Barbara (Paul), Janet and Robert (Kristie); and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass took place July 11 at St. Patrick’s R.C. Church in Southold.
Memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.
DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home assisted the family.