Mary C. Morris

Beloved mother and grandmother, Mary Blanche Carley Morris died on May 29, 2026, at the age of 96. She was born on December 9, 1929 in Brooklyn, New York, the third child and first daughter of John Vincent and Blanche Moren Carley.

She grew up in Brooklyn and attended Immaculata High School on East 33rd Street in Manhattan and graduated from Hunter College in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. 

While at Hunter, she played on the basketball team and was Captain her Senior year. At the time, Mary said it was a “very different game than today,” because women were only allowed to play in skirts, on a half court and no male referees were allowed. After college she was a part of the NY Cosmopolitan women’s basketball team, based in the Bronx, and eventually moved on to refereeing the game. Later in life, her love of the game led her to be a huge fan of the UCONN Women’s Huskies team. She and her sister, Eleanor, looked forward to watching every game.

Mary was a life-long fan of sports and the outdoors. She loved to share her favorite memories of the camps where she spent her summers as a teenager and young adult, teaching swimming, sailing, tennis, archery, basketball, badminton, lacrosse and softball and pretty much any sport you can name.

Her adventurous spirit brought her to Europe one summer in the early 1950s, hitchhiking and biking through post-war France with friends. She imparted the love of travel and adventure in her children, encouraging them to go out and see the world.

After teaching at various private schools in Westchester and Fairfield Counties, Mary was hired as a Physical Education teacher at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, CT.  Mary felt a deep sense of connection with her students and loved to watch them unlock their potential. Continuing her lifelong pursuit of knowledge, she earned a Master’s Degree from Fairfield University in 1961.

Following her marriage to William (Bill) Morris in 1965, she moved to Redding, CT and became very involved in the community. She was deeply committed to Saint Patrick Parish, becoming the first woman to chair the Parish Council in 1980. Through the church, she volunteered regularly at Dorothy Day House of Hospitality, a soup kitchen located in Danbury, CT. She was also involved in the PTA throughout her daughters’ school years.

In 2002, she and Bill moved to Meadow Ridge and enjoyed the community she found there. Always competitive, she appreciated playing Maj-Jong with friends and spent many hours with family playing Cribbage and Shanghai Rummy.

Family was always of paramount importance to Mary. She adored her grandchildren and felt profoundly lucky to watch them grow and discover their amazing capabilities. She also loved all the family animals, especially the dogs, who held a special place in her heart.  Whether it was summers on Nantucket with the Morris family or time spent at 1505 (Fairfield Beach) with the Carley clan, she loved family gatherings. And of course, at the beach it was always about the chocolate chip cookies. 

She was a woman deeply committed to family, faith, and community. Her family would like to give special thanks to the amazing caregivers she came to know and love at Meadow Ridge. She was deeply loved and will be sorely missed.

Mary is survived by daughters Louise Martling-Hertzog (Keith Hertzog) of Palm Coast, FL, Cindy Lewis (Tom) of Brick, NJ, Patty Short (Jim) of Ridgefield, CT and Mary Ann Morris (Matthew Chojnacki) of Ridgefield CT, and six grandchildren, Kent Martling, Jamie Lewis, Will and Ben Short, and Trevor and Connor Chojnacki. She is also survived by her sister, Eleanor Carley of Redding, CT and her sister-in-law Martha Schwuerzer of Germany.  She is predeceased by her husband Bill Morris, and family members Joe and Eleanor Carley, John and Mildred Carley, Jim and Katy Carley, Paul and Signy Morris and Peter Schwerzer.

A Funeral Mass will take place on Friday, June 5, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Saint Patrick Parish, 169 Black Rock Turnpike, Redding. Interment will follow in Redding Ridge Cemetery, Redding. There will be no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Meadow Ridge Scholarship Fund – 100 Redding Road; Redding, CT 06896, https://www.meadowridge.com/ or Tunnels to Towers, https://t2t.org/

Kane Funeral Home is in care of arrangements.