Mary C. Meere

Mary C. (Coakley) Meere passed away peacefully on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at the Regina Nursing Center in Norristown, PA. She was 99. Mrs. Meere was a resident of King of Prussia, PA. She arrived from County Mayo, Ireland at the age of 17 and was employed by Horn & Hardart Restaurants for 47 years. She worked on Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA, Ardmore, PA and then she worked as one of the first waitresses for the former Horn & Hardart in King of Prussia, PA when it opened in 1959. She then waitressed in the restaurant in the John Wanamaker Department Store in King of Prussia. Mary was a founding member of Mother of Divine Providence Church in King of Prussia, where she was an avid church goer who was dedicated to the Blessed Mother and the Rosary. She was also a member of the Home Sharers of Montgomery Co., the Retired Senior Volunteer Program of Montgomery Co., and the Upper Merion Senior Service Center since its beginning and she was a loyal Rambler rider. Mary was a seamstress who sewed and tailored her own clothes. She was an avid scrabble player, loved crossword puzzles, gardening and keeping a vegetable garden. She belonged to the Knitwits, a knitting group. Most of all, she enjoyed spending time with her family! Born in County Mayo, Ireland on May 3, 1910, she was a daughter of the late Thomas and Catherine (Heaney) Coakley. Mary was the wife of the late Joseph P. Meere, who died in 1978. Surviving are her loving family including her daughter, Marie C. Lattanze of King of Prussia, PA; 7 grandchildren: Margaret, Kathleen, Joseph, Christine, Andrew, Maureen and Gregory; 14 great-grandchildren: Jessica, Douglas, Madeline, Kaitlyn, Matthew, Joshua, Jason, Joseph, Sophia, John, Donald, Joseph, Andrew and Samantha; 2 sisters-in-law, Phyllis Coakley of Ireland and Helen (Meere) O'Brien of Philadelphia, PA; and many nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by a son, Joseph T. Meere; 2 brothers, Patrick and John Coakley; and 4 sisters: Kait and Sr. Bridget Coakley (Order of the Sisters of Charity), Ellen ""Lena"" Foley and Winnie Macken. Relatives and friends are invited to her Funeral Mass at Mother of Divine Providence Church, 333 Allendale Rd., King of Prussia, PA on Friday, November 27, 2009 at 11:00am. Her viewing will be Friday morning from 10 to 10:50am, at the church. Interment in Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, PA. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Mary's memory to Mother of Divine Providence Church, 333 Allendale Rd., King of Prussia, PA 19406. Arrangements are by The Bacchi-Courtney Funeral Home & Crematory, Ltd., Bridgeport, PA. www.bacchicourtney.com