Mary Parenty

Mary Parenty January 10, 1922 – January 4, 2025

Maria Gaetano Simonetti was born in the small town of Toritto, located in the Province of Bari in the Apulia region of Italy. She was the first-born child of Beniamino Simonetti and Angelina Devito Simonetti. Mary travelled to America as an infant and her family initially settled on 2nd Avenue in New York City and later moved to the Corona section of Queens. She was predeceased by her parents: Beniamino and Angelina Simonetti and all her younger siblings; sisters Lenore Byrnes and Grace Tursi and brother Stephen Simonetti.

Education was very important to Mary, and she was an excellent student, receiving many spelling awards and “Merits Commendations” while at PS 19. She attended Julia Richmond High School for a year and was an “honors student”. Not wanting her struggling family to continue to pay the small tuition, she made the decision to transfer to Newtown High school, graduating with a “Commercial Diploma”. As the oldest child, she was responsible for paying the bills for her immigrant parents and she had many stories of travelling the subways alone as a very young child to do this.

Upon graduation, she worked for the Auto Club in NYC, then Hubs and later she was hired as Executive Secretary to Charles Slicklen & Sons. On a weekend trip to the Poconos with her sisters Lee and Grace, she met the WWII soldier who later became her husband. She married Louis Parenty from Astoria, NY on February 20, 1949, and when she had her first child, a daughter, she left her career behind to become a full-time homemaker. A son completed their family, who lived in an upstairs apartment at her parents’ home at 46-06 Junction Blvd, Elmhurst, NY.

In 1960, the family moved to the beautiful Whitestone, Queens neighborhood, residing on 147th Place and Mary continued to live there after her husband died in 1995. She was a regular member of a local bowling league, and she worked for the New York City Board of Elections for many years. Mary was mother to her sidekick, “September” the dog until “Seppie” died of old age. Throughout the years, she babysat many grand dogs, who hated to go when it was time to leave. She was devoted to her parents, eventually bringing her mother to live with her and caring for her until her death at age 98. Mary was a member of St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church and later joined Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Summers in the 1950’s, 60’s and the 70’s were spent with the entire family on the North Shore of Long Island in a small bungalow in the town of Rocky Point. Three generations under one roof were very special times and it was the simple things that mattered.

In 2016, Mary moved to New Jersey and made Paragon Village Independent Living in Hackettstown her home. She made many friends over the years at Paragon and especially enjoyed the “Gardening Club” and the “Talks by Paul”.

Mary’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were the love of her life, as well as nieces, nephews and great nieces and great nephews. She enjoyed talking with them, visiting with them and seeing their photos on her Grand Pad. Her memory was remarkable even to the end and she could converse with anyone on any topic anytime. She was well-versed and opinionated on all the current topics, including politics. She was “the Memory Keeper”, “Chief of Operations”, the family hub, keeping track of news, sharing it with everyone and reminding us of important family birthdays and the like. Though hearing impaired, she always managed to hear the things you wish she didn’t.

She is survived by her daughter, Barbara Fiume and son-in-law, Buddy of Lebanon Township, her son Richard Parenty and daughter-in-law, Janet of Wantagh, NY, grandchildren: Christian Fiume and his fiancé’, Brook Wolff of Blairstown, Michael Fiume and his wife, Melissa of Washington, Nicholas Parenty and his fiancé’, Danielle Corsi, of Chatham, Jack Parenty and girlfriend, Aarin Hartenstein, of Massapequa, NY, Alicia Parenty of Wantagh, NY and Frankie the Grand dog of Wantagh. Great grandchildren are Michael Fiume, Jr and Anthony Joseph Fiume of Washington. She had a special relationship with her nieces, Donna Powers of Port Washington, NY and Luna Nichols of Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, who were her” bonus” daughters and their children were her “bonus grandchildren. Her other Grand dog, Byron, recently passed and was surely waiting to greet Grandma at Heaven’s door.

Family and friends may pay their respects on Thursday, January 9, 2025 from 2-6 PM at Maguire Memorial Home, 124 High Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. A Mass of Christian burial will be held on Friday, January 10, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, 14-51 143rd Street, Whitestone, NY 11357. Burial will follow the Mass at Mount St. Mary Cemetery, 172-00 Booth Memorial Avenue, Flushing, NY 11365

Mass will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/HolyTrinityWhitestoneNY/

In lieu of flowers, donation may be made in Mary’s name to Tunnel to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306 or a Mass in Mary’s Memory at Our Lady of the Mountain Church, 2 East Springtown Road, Long Valley, NJ 07853 or St. Theodore Roman Catholic Church, 855 Route 57, Port Murray, NJ 07865.