Mary Catherine Haggerty

Mary Catherine Haggerty (Gonda) died in her sleep on Nov. 14, 2023, after several months in hospice care. The long-term Youngstown, Ohio resident, a nurse, nursing home administrator, wife, mother, and World War II veteran, was living at the Leland of Laurel Run, an assisted living facility in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

Mary Catherine Gonda was born to John and Elizabeth Gonda in Youngstown on May 9, 1924. She was the fifth daughter of 10 girls: Thelma Corcoran, Ethel Jones, Bertha Macko, Theresa Vukovich, Betty Terpak, Anna Mae (Butch) Thompson, Catherine (Kay) Strok, Magdalene (Madge) Kincaid, and Patricia (Patsy) Antrim. All 10 daughters attended the elementary school at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Youngstown, Ohio.

In 1943, after graduating from East High School, Mary worked as a secretary for the Signal Corps at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Shortly after that, she became a U.S. Army nurse cadet. After the war ended, she completed her nurse training at Youngstown Hospital Association, and she immediately started working there. After the end of the war, Mary married her high school sweetheart, William T. Haggerty, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. They had six children.

Mary worked as a nurse at Windsor House nursing homes and eventually worked her way up to become the nursing home administrator at the Windsor House at Omni Manor. Mary was a charter member of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Youngstown, Ohio, and a member of the Altar and Rosary Society. In 2010, Mary moved to Westminster, Maryland to live closer to her children and joined St. John Roman Catholic Church. In 2021, she moved to Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

Mary is preceded by her husband William Thomas Haggerty and eldest son, William Gregory Haggerty. She is also preceded by her sisters Thelma Corcoran, Ethel Jones, Bertha Macko, Theresa Vukovich, Betty Terpak, Anna Mae Thompson, and Magdalene Kincaid, Mary is survived by five children, Lynne Bailey, (Warden), Patricia Jones, (Larry), Christopher Haggerty, (Kimberly), Martin Haggerty, and Michael Haggerty-Villa, (Ricardo), nine grandchildren, and numerous great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 a.m., Thursday, December 7, 2023 at the St. John Roman Catholic Church, 43 Monroe Street, Westminster (21157) where the family will receive friends from 10 to 11 a.m. for a memorial gathering in the Portico.  Interment will follow at a later date in Resurrection Cemetery, Youngstown, Ohio.

In lieu of flowers, Mary requested memorial contributions be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. John Roman Catholic Church, 43 Monroe St., Westminster, Maryland 21157. Funeral arrangements by MYERS-DURBORAW FUNERAL HOME, P.A. of Westminster.  Online condolences may be made to myersdurborawfh.com.