Mary T. McNamara December 15, 1930 - October 15, 2024

Mary T. McNamara, 93, of Allentown, passed away Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in the Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. She was the wife of Raymond W. McNamara. They celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary last April. Mary was born in Litchfield, CT a daughter of the late Charles T. and Emma (Cattey) Williams. She is survived by her husband, her son, John McNamara and his wife and daughters, her daughter, Jane M. Warrick and her husband Scott H. of Hellertown; her sisters, Rose Mazzotta of Manchester, CT, and Marge Neri of Torrington, CT. She was pre-deceased by her sisters Frances Sikand and Katherine Litka.
Mary’s life is best described in her own words, from a high school class reunion book bio she wrote about herself in 2011. It reads as follows: “I have had a very interesting, exciting and wonderful life since high school. After graduating from Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, VA), I moved to Boston, MA. That was quite an experience for a small town girl who was just out of college. I stayed with family friends, and within two weeks, shared an apartment with a girl I met from Torrington, CT. It was a charming apartment on Beacon Street.
My first job was at Arthur D. Little as a secretary to an engineering department head. After two years, I heard about a job at Tufts New England Medical Center, for an administrative assistant to the director of the anesthesia department. He was also a professor at Tufts Medical College. This was a very challenging position, editing medical writings, and planning the medical dinner meetings since my boss was Secretary of the Massachusetts Society of Anesthesiologists. I also attended these meetings. During the several years I was there, I traveled to New York City for closed circuit TV shows, staying at the Waldorf Astoria.
In 1960, I met a wonderful man, Raymond McNamara, through the Intercollegiate Club of Boston. He is a civil engineer and a graduate of the University of Vermont. After we married on April 15, 1961, I resigned from the Medical Center. I decided to find a job a little less demanding and stressful. I took a position at the Harvard Business School working for the Director of the Advanced Management Program. While I was there, he was appointed Dean. I was thrilled when he asked me to join him as his administrative assistant. He was also the President of the Transportation Department, Washington, D.C.. I met many famous people while working at the Business School.
One year later, Ray and I moved to Sacramento, CA. My husband always wanted to live there. I had mixed emotions, feeling that Boston was now my home, having been there for 10 years. Once in Sacramento, I decided to find a job since we did not have children at the time. I found a position at the Bank of California, working for an attorney who was Director of the Trust Department. I resigned when I became pregnant two years later. After ten years in California, we moved back East to Pennsylvania. I have two beautiful children. John is married, and he and his wife have two girls. Jane lives nearby with her husband.”
Services: 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, October 22, 2024, in the Stephens Funeral Home, Inc. 274 North Krocks Road, Allentown. Friends and family may call from 1:00 – 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Resurrection Cemetery, Allentown. www.stephensfuneral.com.