MASSENA - Mrs. Mary Richey, aged 94, peacefully passed away in her sleep early Friday 29 December 2017 at Maplewood Campus in Canton. Mary was born 21 March 1923 in Mezőkövesd, Hungary, to Gaspar and Mary Adam Farkas. In 1932 her father Gaspar immigrated to Canada in the hopes of making a better life for his family. He travelled the country by rail searching for a place to call home and eventually settled in Cornwall, Ontario. The remainder of the family, his wife, young Mary and brother Gaspar, then made the arduous journey by rail through Europe and across the Atlantic by ship, to join him in 1933. Mary attended French school where she became fluent in French, as well as English, and often translated for the Hungarian community in Cornwall. In late 1942 she met Floyd Richey from Massena and they were married in 1943, just before he shipped out to Europe as a member of the 45th Infantry. She lived with his family in Massena until his return in 1946, and at that time they made their permanent home in Massena. She took an active role in the various family businesses, including a grocery store, radio & TV repair shop, and a mobile home sales and service. Upon Floyd’s death in 2010, Mary moved to Maplewood in Canton where she made many friends and was very happy. She enjoyed the musical productions at Maplewood and playing Bingo, and loved old movies (Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were great favorites).
Mary was well known for her baking and cooking skills: her cookies and pies were legendary. She loved to dance, enjoyed swimming, and spent many happy hours gardening. Her stories of growing-up in Hungary and Cornwall were told and retold. In 2000, she returned to Hungary to visit family and friends, and declared it one of the highlights of her life.
She was predeceased by her parents, her brother Gaspar, and her husband Floyd. She is survived by her children: Tom and Eileen Richey of Fort Worth, Texas; Patsi and Loren Siddon of Massena; Jeanne and Jerry Rice of Evansville, Indiana; John and Anne Richey of Canton; and Lorie and Keith MacKenzie of Massena; 10 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren, several nieces and nephews in the US and Canada, as well as relatives who remained in Hungary.
A private memorial service and interment will be in the spring. Memorial gifts may be made to the Maplewood Campus Activity Fund, 205 State Street Road, Canton, New York 13617.
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