Mary Murphy Morrissey passed away on April 16, 2024, at the age of 95. A 64-year resident of Rye, N.Y., she worked for many years in administrative posts at SUNY Purchase.
After graduating from Washington Irving High School in Manhattan, she attended Pace Business School.
She worked as a bookkeeper, an office manager, and as Associate Director of Human Resources at SUNY Purchase, where she enjoyed meeting the visiting and student artists, musicians, and dancers. She retired in 1995.
She married her first love, James Morrissey, and they raised their three children in Rye.
A warm and loving mother, she cherished hosting Sunday dinners to which family members would come from Manhattan and the Bronx. These gatherings, filled with days at the beach or rounds of golf, always ended with a large meal around a crowded table overflowing with laughter and good food.
As her children grew, the table expanded to accommodate friends and neighbors who joined in the fun of this weekly tradition. Mary Morrissey loved living and raising her family in Rye, and she could often be found at the Rye Golf pool, on the shore of Rye Beach, or at Kelly’s with friends and family.
Her husband, James Morrissey, died in 2005. She is survived by her children, Michael (Floy) and Thomas (Debra), and Joan Grace; six grandchildren, Peter Morrissey (Anna), Sean Morrissey (John Brower), Amelia Grace, Alex Grace, Lucas Morrissey (Mary), and Logan Morrissey (Nicholas); and a great-grandson, James Morrissey.
A funeral mass was held April 22 at Resurrection Church.
Donations in Mary Morrissey’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Little Sisters of the Poor, or SPRYE.
