Mary Nevins Obituary

Mary Elizabeth McElroy Nevins passed away peacefully on December 22, 2025, after a short illness. The daughter of Charles and Marie O'Brien McElroy, she was born on June 29, 1925, and spent her first years on the East Side of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Mary was raised on Long Hill, Trumbull, CT, attended Edison School, and graduated as the Valedictorian of the Lauralton Hall, Milford, CT, Class of 1942. She attended Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT, graduating Magna cum laude in economics in the class of 1946. She was proud to have worked to support wartime efforts during WWII, working at Chance-Vaught aircraft, builders of the Corsair fighter, and later at Sikorsky Aircraft, helping to develop their pioneering helicopters. After marriage to Robert A. Nevins, she was employed by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC, witnessing the attempted assassination of President Harry S. Truman in November 1950.

Mary was married to the late Dr. Robert A. Nevins for over 65 years until his passing in 2016. Mary and Bob raised six children in Farfield, Connecticut. Along with her husband, she was a long-standing parishioner of St. Thomas Aquinas Church, where she served as an Eucharistic Minister for many years and was Secretary of the Lay Advisory Board. Mary and Bob were members of The Patterson Club in Fairfield for over fifty years. She took up golf in her 60s, tired, she said, of being a golf widow, and became active in golf leagues at both the Patterson Club and Fairfield's Par Three course. Her family fondly remembers her as an academic, an astute scholar with a brilliant mind, a formidable and highly competitive bridge player and an avid reader. She was a devoted mother who instilled in her children a love of family, the outdoors, and being a responsible member of the community. Mary loved being an active member of the St. Thomas Church Mother's Circle and Ladies Guild, a school volunteer, a member of the hospitality committee of the Farfield Historical Society, the Connecticut Audubon Society, the Bridgeport Hospital Auxiliary, and the Lauralton Hall and Albertus Magnus College alumni organizations. Mary was devoted to her family and friends. As a self-described Farfield County taxi driver, she ferried her kids to swimming and tennis lessons, doctor and dentist appointments, tutoring sessions, scouting programs, chorus, and music practices without complaint. Winters she packed the car for frequent ski trips to Vermont, where she was the chief instructor to her children. After Mary's children left for college, she hoped to return to her career, but instead began a new career as a caregiver for seven elderly relatives. When her husband retired, Mary and Bob enjoyed many years together travelling the world, enjoying new cultures, and, closer to home, delighted in the company of their children and grandchildren. Mary was an avid reader of British mysteries (they didn't contain any vulgarities), she couldn't go to bed without solving the New York Times crossword puzzle, and wouldn't rest until every last weed and stray twig was eliminated from her immaculate gardens.

The first woman in her family to attend college, Mary was a passionate advocate of education for girls and women, andshe  advocated for equal educational and employment opportunities for them at every chance

Mary Nevins is survived by five children including Robert Nevins and his wife Lisa of Enfield, NH, Christopher Nevins and his husband Joseph DeLuca of Somers, CT, Michael Nevins and his wife Sheila of Milford, CT, Richard Nevins and his wife Karen of Corning, NY, Gail Nevins McGuirk and her husband Eric of Black Rock, CT, and her son-in-law, Silvino Monteiro of Bridgeport, CT. She was predeceased by her eldest daughter Anne Nevins Monteiro and her younger sister, Anne McElroy. She is survived by a proud legacy of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. These include grandchildren Ian, Austin, and Travis of Robert and Lisa; Kyle, Colin, and Caitlin of Michael and Sheila; Patrick, Casey, Caroline, Charlotte, and Veronica of Richard and Karen; Roisin and Sinead McGuirk of Gail and Eric McGuirk, and step-grandchildren Tania, Tatiana, and Jose of Anne and Silvino Monteiro as well as seven great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank Christopher for lovingly caring for Mary in his home during the past few years.

A visitation will be held at Lesko Funeral Home, 1209 Post Road, Fairfield, Connecticut, on Friday, January 9, 2026, from 5 to 7 PM. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 10th, at 10 AM at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Fairfield, with interment to follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield.

For travel directions or to leave an online condolence, please visit www.LeskoFuneralHome.com.