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Mary Nussdorfer Hennessy, aged 99 and affectionately known as “Mema” by all who knew her, died in her home in Fort Washington, PA, on October 24th of natural causes. Pre-deceased by her parents and her brother, Burr Nussdorfer of Sparta, WI, she is survived by her two children, Murray Hennessy and Elizabeth Hennessy Sawyer; by daughter-in-law, Jean, and son-in-law, Jonathan; by her six grandchildren, Matthew, Tyler, Gideon, Ben, Anna and Layla; and by nephew Bill Nussdorfer and nieces Susan Berg, Jane Kikuchi and Anne Staton, and all of their children and grandchildren.
Born in 1925, Mema led a long, healthy and rich life. Her early years were spent in Avon Lake, Ohio, on a fruit farm cultivated by her father and uncle during the Great Depression, and there she learned a love of freedom and nature (and fruit) that would remain with her all her life; she also developed a keen desire to see the world and left the farm at age 14 to attend Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies (now Northfield Mount Hermon School) in Northfield, MA, upon receiving a scholarship there. After graduating in 1942, she attended the University of North Carolina, later transferring to Antioch College where she earned a B.A. in Journalism.
Born in 1925, Mema led a long, healthy and rich life. Her early years were spent in Avon Lake, Ohio, on a fruit farm cultivated by her father and uncle during the Great Depression, and there she learned a love of freedom and nature (and fruit) that would remain with her all her life; she also developed a keen desire to see the world and left the farm at age 14 to attend Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies (now Northfield Mount Hermon School) in Northfield, MA, upon receiving a scholarship there. After graduating in 1942, she attended the University of North Carolina, later transferring to Antioch College where she earned a B.A. in Journalism.
Following College, Mema began her career as a newspaper writer and photographer, first with the Woodland Daily Democrat in Woodland, California, prior to joining The Reader’s Digest in Chappaqua, New York, where she worked for many years. In 1953 she spent several months traveling in Europe, prior to working at The Reader’s Digest London office, and on the French Riviera she met her future husband, Irish writer Maurice Noel Hennessy, with whom she would travel, write books, and raise children in the 33 years they spent together.
Married in 1957, Mema turned her hand to teaching and to providing editorial support to Maurice; his career took them to live in England and his native Ireland for almost 10 years before returning to the US in 1977. Always curious and fun-loving, Mema relished her time overseas and continued to enjoy the friendships she made in England and Ireland for years to come. Her door was always open, and her home often filled with visitors.
Married in 1957, Mema turned her hand to teaching and to providing editorial support to Maurice; his career took them to live in England and his native Ireland for almost 10 years before returning to the US in 1977. Always curious and fun-loving, Mema relished her time overseas and continued to enjoy the friendships she made in England and Ireland for years to come. Her door was always open, and her home often filled with visitors.
Always focused on having a purpose in life, Mema enrolled in the Peace Corps in 1991, at age 66, and was sent to Radom, Poland, to serve as an English teacher in a local high school. She often described her years there as some of the happiest of her life, a time when she devoted herself to teaching, to learning, and to enjoying the adventures of travel and new friendships.
Upon returning to the US, Mema launched herself on a new project-writing a book on her son-in-law’s great grandfather, Civil War hero Henry Washington Sawyer, who had led a remarkable life. Determined that the family story not go undocumented, she spent 10 years researching the US Civil war and eventually publishing her book, His Hour Upon the Stage: the Story of a Civil War Horse Soldier and the Woman who Fought to Save his Life.
Upon returning to the US, Mema launched herself on a new project-writing a book on her son-in-law’s great grandfather, Civil War hero Henry Washington Sawyer, who had led a remarkable life. Determined that the family story not go undocumented, she spent 10 years researching the US Civil war and eventually publishing her book, His Hour Upon the Stage: the Story of a Civil War Horse Soldier and the Woman who Fought to Save his Life.
In 2001 Mema moved to Fort Washington, PA to be near her daughter’s family and began the next 23-year chapter of her life, an important component of which was teaching English to non-native speakers at the Fort Washington library; she was devoted to her students, a cohort of adults from around the world, with whom she maintained a conversation class and friendship for over 17 years.
Teacher, writer, adventurer, devoted mother, grandmother and friend, Mema embodied a love of life and people and thrived on looking after her friends and family; never focused on herself, she was fueled by a generosity of spirit, a warm light that shone on all who knew her.
The family extends special thanks to the women who cared for Mema professionally and compassionately, body and spirit, in recent years: Leona, Laretha Jean, Maggie and Angie. A celebration of her life will be held on November 24th at 3pm in the McCausland Chapel at St. Thomas’s Church, 610 Church Rd, Flourtown, PA 19031.
