Mary Ruth McGrath

Mary Ruth McGrath passed away peacefully in her home on Wednesday October 10th, 2012 in the presence of her adored husband of twenty years, Barry Thomas McGrath, and her four devoted children: Heather, Andrea, Steven and Audra. Born July 4th 1953 in Gowanda, NY to Ione (Hunt) and George Slaughenhaupt, Mary was the youngest of thirteen children. She is now reunited with both of her parents, her sisters Shirley, Patricia, and Nancy, as well as her brother James who died in infancy. She will be greatly missed by her brothers Donald, George Russell, John, and Edward; her sisters Loreen, Judy, Linda, and Cynthia; and her fourteen cherished grandchildren Angel, Sienna, Joel, Emily, Faith, Kimberly, Eli, David, Grace, Sarah, Gabriel, Destiny, Trinity, and Gloria.  She also leaves behind many beloved nieces, nephews and in-laws.
Mary possessed a creative and generous spirit. A true renaissance woman, she experimented at various points in her life with music, art, fashion, interior design, and crafts of all varieties. She will be remembered most fondly for her baking. She honed her confectionary skills working for her sister Shirley and brother in-law Bob at their family run businesses; Endwell Bakery and Amacher’s Family Bake Shop. Whether it was a beautifully decorated wedding cake, or homemade cookies and pies, it was a gift which she shared freely. She had a lovely singing voice which was heard far too seldom, a radiant smile that was never far from her lips, and an infectious laugh which embraced everyone equally.
Mary was unassuming and at times self deprecating, yet her loss profoundly impacts all who knew her. She had a quiet strength and immense courage, both of which were demonstrated frequently during her four year battle with cancer. She volunteered with the Red Cross on several occasions, including joining the relief effort in New Orleans during the Christmas season of 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Just this past May she organized the Destiny’s Hope benefit to raise funds for her granddaughters fight with leukemia.  In accordance with her wishes Destiny’s Hope will continue to serve the greater Binghamton community by raising aid for local families struggling with childhood cancer and other children’s health organizations.
Mere words can do Mary no justice. Her candle has been extinguished, yet her light shines on through those she left behind. Please join us in celebrating her life on Monday October 22nd at Calvary’s Love Assembly of God, 1315 Reynolds Rd. Johnson City NY. Family will begin receiving friends @ 11:30am, service commences at 1pm with reception to follow.
Any donations in remembrance of Mary may be made to The American Red Cross at www.redcross.org, The American Cancer Society at www.cancer.org/involved, or Destiny’s Hope at Auntheather2012@ g-mail.com. Arranged by Ernest H. Parsons Funeral Home, Binghamton NY.

---

 Service Information