PROCLAMATION from Fred Camillo, First Selectman
WHEREAS, Mary Finnerty Lavelle was born on June 30th 1921 in Birr, County Offaly, Ireland, the second youngest child of three sisters and four brothers to Thomas Finnerty, Retired Soldier, and Mary Lynch; and
WHEREAS, Mary spent the war years shuttling between Ireland and England, and began her married life in London to John Lavelle, eldest son of an Irish family from Yorkshire in the north of England. They established themselves in London where Mary’s mother, brothers and sisters relocated after the war; and
WHEREAS, In 1957 Mary joined her husband in New York where he had emigrated in 1955. They lived first in Astoria, then Bayside and finally in East Hampton, New York; and
WHEREAS, Mary extended her time and talent in support of the activities of the Sacred Heart Church and school in Bayside, as well as the needs of her family. Mary and John travelled back to Ireland, and to England and later to France where they celebrated their extended family members; and
WHEREAS, In 1993 Mary and John Lavelle moved to Winter Park, Florida where they enjoyed retirement. Mary was a parishioner of St. Margaret Mary Church of Winter Park, and enjoyed their faith community, all her neighbors and friends and was known to host dozens of guests at her elaborate St. Patrick’s Day parties; and
WHEREAS, Mary, has five children, fifteen grandchildren and twenty-seven great grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Mary moved to the Mews in Greenwich in 2018 where she displays a keen interest in all her many new friends, maintains the love of former neighbors and extended family, and attracts the appreciation of all who know her.
NOW, THEREFORE, l, Fred Camillo, FIRST SELECTMAN OF THE TOWN OF GREENWICH, do
hereby proclaim Wednesday, June 30, 2021 as
Mary Lavelle Day
in the Town of Greenwich and urge all residents to join me in wishing Mary Lavelle a very happy 100th birthday! Congratulations and best wishes!