Mary Ann Kennedy, 89, peacefully passed away Nov. 12, 2016. She was born Sept. 16, 1927, in Starý Tekov, a rural farming community in the Levice District of western Slovakia. Her parents were Karl and Marta Mesaros; Mary was the youngest of three children born in Slovakia. Like many eastern Europeans, Karl immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1930s. He found work in the New Jersey Zinc smelting plant in Palmerton, Pa. Marta and her three daughters, Rose, Anna and Mary, joined Karl in 1934 when Mary was 7 years old. The family settled in Palmerton and two more children, Stanley and Helen, were born.

Mary thrived in the U.S. education system, graduating valedictorian from Stephen S. Palmer High School in 1946. She became the first person in her family to obtain a college degree. She received a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from Roosevelt University in Chicago in September 1951. At Roosevelt, she met her future husband, Winston Kennedy, a Chicago native. They raised a family in the south-side of Chicago and divorced in 1974. In 2002, Mary left Chicago to live in Suffolk to be near her youngest child, Robert, and his family. She lived there for the remainder of her life.

Mary was a homemaker. She loved her children and grandchildren and never missed an opportunity to attend their sport or school events. She was also active in the First Unitarian-Universalist church and enjoyed cooking, gardening, reading and shopping for sales in the Chicago Loop.

Mary is survived by her brother, Stanley Mesaros, of Palmerton, Pa.; sister, Helen Shoberi, of Lakeland, Fla.; daughters, Pat (Len Paur) and Pamela (David Lauchmen); sons, Tom (Felice Apter) and Robert (Maggie); grandchildren, Devon, Kyle, Ashleigh, Cory, Cameron, Tatiana and Lena; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Her service will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016, at Campton Funeral Home, Palmerton, Pa., with Deacon Ed Girard officiating. Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Old Cemetery. Visitation will be at 1 p.m. Remembrances may be sent to any charity of choice. Condolences may be posted on www.parrfuneralhome.com.