Obituary: Mary Alice Montaine, 87, of Guilford

This obituary is provided courtesy of the Guilford Funeral Home:

Mary Alice Montaine, of Guilford, CT passed away peacefully on Friday May 1, 2020 at home with family by her side. She died due to complications from cancer. She was born in Stamford on June 29, 1932 to Fergus and Helen Shea McOsker. Mary Alice grew up in Stamford and raised her family there. She attended Yale- Grace New Haven Nursing School where she received her nursing degree. She worked at Stamford Hospital for most of her career, first in the Emergency Room and then moved on to other areas of the hospital where she became a Head Floor Nurse. She ended her career in Oncology and Hospice Care. Her proudest accomplishment was assisting with the opening of Bread & Roses, a hospice care home for AIDS patients, during the AIDS epidemic. She gave much of herself in the service of others providing care and compassion to all her patients for her entire career.

She is predeceased by her parents and her beloved husband Richard Elliott Montaine. They were neighbors on Third Street growing up, married in 1962 and spent 51 wonderful years together. She is survived by their 4 children, Michael Montaine and his wife Lisa of Norwalk, David Montaine and his wife Sandra of Hamden, Tara Varga and her husband Rob of Stratford, and Mark Montaine of Stamford. Her greatest joy was her 6 grandchildren Matthew Varga and his wife Kayla, Christopher Varga , Alex Varga, Erin Montaine, David Montaine, and Mitchell Montaine, and one great- granddaughter, Charlotte Varga. She is also survived by her brother Fergus McOsker and his wife Betty of Stamford and her nephew Kevin McOsker of Stamford.

Her house was always full of chaos and noise but also lots of love. Mary Alice and Richard moved to Guilford over 20 years ago and quickly became part of a community they grew to love. Mary Alice was very involved in her Church, St. George Parish, where she sang in the choir on Sundays and the funeral choir. She loved to sing and this brought her great joy. She also headed up Martha’s Partners, with her friend Marie, which held receptions for the grieving families following the funerals in the church hall. Mary Alice was a kind and generous soul and weekly donated to the local food bank, The Guilford Food Bank. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Due to the present circumstances a mass will be held at a later date to be decided. Donations may be made in her name to the Guilford Food Bank. Donations are accepted at Guilford Food Bank every Friday 9 am to 12 noon. Items may also be dropped off at collection bins located at Guilford Big Y and Palumbo's Automotive during their regular business hours. Monetary donations should be mailed to Guilford Food Bank c/o Guilford Social Services, 263 Church Street, Guilford, CT 06437.