"She touched the lives of all that knew her..."
Mary M. Van Zilen, 77, of Cromwell, wife of Gary Van Zilen, Sr. passed away on Thursday, (January 31st) at Middlesex Hospital.
Born in Norwalk, she was the daughter of the late Anthony and Bertha M. (Serfozo) Mayor. Mary lived in Cromwell for the past 36 years, worked for the Town of Cromwell from 1973 to 1981, worked as secretary to the Principal of Cromwell High School from 1981 until her retirement in 1993 and was honored with the dedication of the 1987 Cromwell High School yearbook.
She was a parishioner and Eucharist minister at St. John Church in Cromwell and also attended St. Pius X Church, St. Francis of Assisi Church and St. Mary's Church all in Middletown.
Besides her husband, Mary is survived by two sons, Gary Van Zilen, Jr. of Cromwell and Greg Van Zilen of Colchester and two sisters, Bertha Hucaluk of Derby and Ann Melillo of Westport. She was predeceased by five brothers: Frank, Anthony, Jr., John, William, and Joseph Mayor.
Funeral services will be held from the Cromwell Funeral Home, 506 Main Street, Cromwell on Tuesday, February 5th at 9 a.m. followed by Mass of Christian Burial at St. John Church, 5 St. John Court, Cromwell at 10 a.m. and interment will be in St. Sebastian Cemetery in Middlefield. Friends may call at the Cromwell Funeral Home on Monday evening from 6-8 p.m. The family has requested that friends please omit flowers and that donations in her memory be made to St. John Church, 5 St. John Court, Cromwell, CT 06416, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude's Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1004, Meriden, CT 06450. Messages of condolences may be sent to the family at www.doolittlefuneralservice.com