Mary Schalge
Obituary Reports the death of an individual, providing an account of the person’s life including their achievements, any controversies in which they were involved, and reminiscences by people who knew them.
On Apr. 5, Mary Schalge, loving mother of four children and grandmother to one grandson, passed away at the age of 91 after a long illness.
Mary was born on Mar. 5, 1933, in Brooklyn to loving Italian immigrant parents who became U.S. citizens.
She met Roger, the future father of her children, when she was a teenager, and they were married for 25 years. They moved their young family of three children from Brooklyn to a home in the suburbs in Mahopac, where they welcomed a fourth child. Mary made sure their kids were raised in a beautiful environment full of fun and activities such as horseback riding, swimming, piano lessons and school activities.
She was a caring, proud and beloved mother of her children, Linda Holt, Rosemary Scollan, Roger Schalge Jr. and Christopher Schalge, and wonderful grandmother to Nicholas Holt. Mary is survived by her adult children and grandson.
Mary was a retired registered nurse who had gone back to school to earn her GED and then her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Westchester Community College while caring for her young children. She supported family as a single mom working in the healthcare profession until her retirement at age 69. She loved to cook for family and friends, with delicious Italian food being her specialty as well as her renowned New York-style cheesecake. Mary passed her love and knowledge of cooking onto her daughters and her grandson, Nick.
She provided many meals for her church, The Peak Community Church in Peekskill, and friends in Mahopac. At the age of 88, Mary relocated to Chesapeake, Va. to live close to her oldest son, Roger and his wife, Cassie, who lovingly cared for her throughout her illness.
Mary was a generous person and helped others as a nurse, a friend and a Christian. She was very passionate about her faith and was proud of her degree from the International College of Bible Theology.
Mary was admired by longtime friend Jane, who commented that she was “a missionary of good” and that she had a loving, healing heart during the time that she nursed Jane’s sick mom and helped the family. With her own family, Mary was selfless in caring for her sister and best friend, Kay, and in staying by her side as her advocate during Kay’s battle with cancer.
She now goes to join her friend and her children’s father, Roger Schalge. May her memory be a blessing.
Donations can be made to No Kid Hungry at www.nokidhungry.org, and indicate “In Memory of Mary Schalge.” When making an online donation, please indicate that you’d like them to have Mary’s family notified of this gift with an e-mail to lindaholt@holttravel.com. Thank you very much!
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