Mary Elizabeth Wehrenberg passed peacefully on March 11th, 2019 at the House of Good Shepherd in Hackettstown. Mary”E”, as she was known to family and friends, was born to William and Mary Sampson in Brooklyn, New York and resided there until moving to Rutherford, NJ as a teenager. Mary was always proud of her Brooklyn roots and loved to reminisce with fellow Brooklynites. She enjoyed telling stories of living in a large loving multi-generational home with a barn in back, and of her Irish Setter, Red.
Mary E graduated from Saint Mary’s High School in Rutherford, attended Farleigh Dickinson College and the Barbizon School of Modeling in NYC. She worked for Bell Telephone prior to her marriage to Harry B. Wehrenberg Jr. of Woodridge, NJ.
Mary and Harry were parents to 6 children; Carol, Mark, Richard, Robert, Karl and Eric. Needless to say, Mary had quite a few hilarious tales about the rambunctious antics and calamities in a large family. In 1965 Mary and Harry moved their family to what was then, very rural Schooley’s Mountain. There she became a devout parishioner of Our Lady of the Mountain Church, where she was a Eucharistic Minister and very involved in the Rosary Altar Society. In later years Mary was honored by Our Lady of the Mountain for her contributions.
Harry passed away in 1984 and Mary’s indomitable spirit was an inspiration to all. She traveled all over the world, cruised the seas, took bus trips galore and always had comical stories with which to entertain. Mary was always on the phone, had many friends and could never get out of a store without running into several of them. Her famous phrase, “I’ll only be in there a couple of minutes” was known to be an outrageous lie!
Mary was always impeccably dressed, bejeweled, perfectly coiffed, and had smiles for everyone. She was adored by her 16 grandchildren. Mary loved attending their games, recitals, concerts, graduations, weddings. etc – as long as her hair did not get wet and she could take hundreds of photographs!
Her grandchildren loved spending time at her lake house in Lake Ariel; swimming, fishing, chasing cousins and dogs around the house and creating more stories for Mary to tell. There, around the oversized round table, they played endless games of Rummy King and Mahjong. There was way too much food, not enough sleep, but lots of laughter and plenty of cousin bonding. Her 11 great grandchildren held a special place in her heart.
Mary was especially close with her dear sister, Eleanor Baker. They were frequently called the Bobbsey Twins, not only due to their similar appearance, but personality traits. Eleanor has 5 children, so their stories combined could fill volumes. Mary and Eleanor talked almost every day and frequently traveled together.
Mary was especially proud of her Irish roots and was known as “the mother with all the red headed boys”. On one of their most memorable trips together, she and Eleanor traveled to Ireland to the family homestead and reconnected with family members.
Mary met Anthony DeVenezia at a retirement party for their parish priest. They were married and spent much time with their combined family and friends as well as frequent ravels to Naples, Florida. Sadly, it only lasted for a short time before he passed away. But their time together was fun, and love filled.
Mary was also a resident of Panther Valley and a member of The Friends and Neighbors Association, The Villa Madonna Guild and The Red Hats. In recent years, she was a resident of The House of Good Shepherd, on their Welcoming Committee and Residents’ Advisory Council.
Mary is survived by her daughter Carol Borman (Gary), sons Mark (Debbie), Richard (Robin), Robert, Karl (Diane), Eric (Seena) and her former daughter-in-law, Donna Roselli Allfather. Her 16 grandchildren, Devon Borman Kleindienst (Shane), Ashley Borman Lebo (Tyler), Christen Borman, John-Craig Borman, Michael, Mark, Matthew, Braden, Jamie, Alyssa, Robert, Jonathon, Karl Jr., Amber, Brenna and Colin Wehrenberg. Her great grandchildren, Max and Logan Kleindienst, Broderick and Teagan Lebo, Addison, Mark III, Mia, Tyler, Brandon, Gavin and Trip Wehrenberg and her dear sister Eleanor (Peter) Baker.
Calling hours will take place on Friday, March 15, 2019, from 9:30 am – 10:30 am at Cochran Funeral Home.
A funeral service will also be held, Friday March 15, 2019 at 11:00 am at Our Lady of the Mountain Church, 2 East Springtown Road, Long Valley, NJ 07840.
In lieu of flowers donations to The House of the Good Shepherd 798 Willow Grove Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840 would be greatly appreciated.