By Darlene Mae O’Connor
Mary Rose Perry, my mother, was born June 9th, 1932 in Nanticoke Pennsylvania, a coal miner’s daughter. The nation was in the throughs of “The Great Depression” and times were hard for what would later be called, “The Greatest Generation”. To ensure that her older brothers, upon returning from service in WWII would not suffer the fate of life in the mines, her father, Arthur F. Perry and mother, Mae Perry, relocated to Celeron, New York. At only 16 years old my mother traded in her school books for a job at National Worsted Mills. Her father was disabled from black lung disease and her family needed her help.
Thus begins her life of sacrifice and exemplary service.
To speak of either one of my parents is impossible without mentioning the other. By the time I was born the last Nowell to Larry &Mary Nowell in 1965, they were well established as a dynamic duo on the thriving entertainment scene of Chautauqua County, and as local radio celebrities with radio stations, WJTN and SE93. They worked tirelessly together using their notoriety in support of community service organizations, such as; The Lions Club and Lions Auxiliary, Boy’s and Girl Scouts of America, The Vikings, March of Dimes and Toys for Tots, to name a few. Together they hosted numerous fund raisers, delivered Easter Baskets to the elderly and were forever visiting and entertaining residents in our community nursing homes.
Roller Skating and Live Music were the order of the day when Mom and Dad fell in love to the legendary swoon song, “I Only Have Eyes for You”. My dad was a popular musician and performance staple in the roller rink of the then, world renowned, “Celeron Park”. While Larry made the music, Mary made you want to lace up your skates and roll. She was, “Grace on Wheels” and the darling of the rink. In their early years together Chautauqua Lake and the southern tier region was vibrant and thriving. Celeron could boast of being home to the, “World’s Largest Carousel”, as well as, one of the nations, “Oldest and Largest Spinning Wheels”, one of few built before “Ferris” became the premier builder and name of fame.
Early in their marriage with two toddlers in tow, mom and dad decided to help a local disabled woman who sold tickets at the rink. She was afflicted with a horrible arthritic condition and abandoned by the people who had been providing her care. Taking Pearl into their home, my dad would carry her in and out of the rink and mom would change her bandages, caring for her at home. A concern for the dignity of others in need was definitely shared. Like my mother, dad helped his family during the depression. He performed his first wedding at 5 years old for a local Statesman and helped his family, brought by his older brothers to the local Honky Tanks to perform the hits of the day while my uncles would “pass the hat” for tips. While neither one of my parents were afforded the luxury of childhood or a high school education, both made an imprint of positivity and meaning through service to others here in the city of the hills.
As little kid’s, my siblings and I thought dad hung the moon and we were certain mom ran the world. Her petite frame belied her big personality. Less than 5 feet in height and weighing no more than 98 pounds soaking wet, she could and did move mountains. Had she been blessed with the opportunity of a higher education after earning her GED later in life, she could have been anything she might have chosen to be.
When I was four years old, she was preparing for her first solo flight in her pursuit of a pilot license. With only two days to go before the scheduled test, my father suffered a severe seizure.
Once again, Mary had to set her goals and dreams aside because her family needed her. For the next few years, she had to be chauffer and constant companion to my father. While his natural gift of music was not diminished, the medications he was taking to control the tumor that caused the seizure, cost him the ability to drive. Dad was in demand for the public’s, “Dining and Dancing Pleasure”, and while the popularity of roller rinks, were waning, what Mary was to skating she was equal to on the dance floor. As Larry, “Tickled the Ivory’s”, Mary got people on their feet and dancing. These were good days for radio and WJTN. Personalities like Jim Roselli and his live radio remotes, Melva Weber, Doc Webster and George Fleeger, along with Hal Martin and Paul Harvey, who gave us, “The rest of the Story”, were my parents contemporaries. Mary, already hosting the Saturday Breakfast Party, now started hosting a new live radio show, “Tuesday Evening Birthday Parties”. Not long after dad was driving again and soon, she was back on wheels, earning medals in Roller Dance and her coaching credentials from the RSROA and RSTA. She could have stopped there, but another call came.
Merrill G. Rosen was the Vice President of Media One, operating WJTN and SE93. Merrill and his wife Patti, welcomed a third daughter to their lives. At birth Danyelle was diagnosed with autism and severe down syndrome. Not much was known about these issues, so my mom launched herself into service again. She began volunteering with many others, to provide services that were necessary in order to stimulate the young girl’s brain. My mom began researching the condition and led the Rosen family to the, “Philadelphia Institute of Human Potential”. For many years Mary worked Danyelle and the Rosen family; getting them to and from the Institute and spending countless hours of dedicated effort to help Danyelle reach her human potential. If mom were still here with us today, she would say it was Danyelle and her life that helped my mom reach her, “Human Potential’.
In 1983 my father died and for a time we all were lost. Mom hated pity parties and firmly believed if you were given a gift, it was your responsibility to use it to enhance the lives of people less fortunate. She took her passion for helping people and her gift of roller skating and founded, “Special Olympic Roller Skating” as an official sport with the New York State, “Special Olympics Games”. Turning her Tragedy into Triumph, she trained coaches and athletes, leading them around the country and across the globe. Holding yearly “Skate-A-Thons” and other fundraising events, she always said she could not have done any of it without the help of John and Diane Evans and who donated rink time, her numerous volunteers or without local business people like Joe Caprino and the multitude of community service organizations she had worked with throughout the years. Mary ran the training centers teaching coaches and “Her Athletes”. Until deteriorating knees forced her to hang up her skates. Her determination and life’s mission to help others would not end here. Already into her golden years, she took up golf and dedicated herself to training coaches and athletes for, “Special Olympics Golf”, and turned over the fund she had established for skaters to the golfers.
Mary Rose Perry, Nowell, Ceci, Henning, knew how to make Lemonade out of Lemons. Having had to say goodbye to three husbands throughout her life, gave her a resilience and determination not known to many. She always picked herself up and found a way to recreate herself by serving others. She left us a Legacy and Lessons in Leadership through her Love and Compassion.
Mary was a life long learner and embodied the “Spirit of Champions”. Even at her passing, she found a way to benefit others. Her last act of generosity was to dedicate her remains to the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. While awarded many times by the organizations she worked with and for, her heart was to see, “Her Athletes”, achieve. Recognized as,” Women of the Year”, by the Zonta Club, The Universal Unitarian Church, “Richard Parker Award”, The Mason’s, “Dewitt Clinton Award”, for Community Service and the Resource Centers, “Humanitarian of the Year”. She hosted and later produced the longest running live radio broadcast, “The WJTN Breakfast Party”, until Covid shut it down.
With my mothers passing one year ago today, Jamestown, New York and Chautauqua County,
were to say,” Good Bye”, to a “Local Hero”. May we forever remember her ability to Give beyond the Measure we are Given in pursuit of a life of Humanitarianism and Faith.