Mary Toigo

Mary Coughlin Toigo - Born to eternal life May 14, 2022 at the age of 91, cherished wife, mother, sister, aunt, Nonna, Great Nonna, and friend to many.

Mary was born October 12, 1930 in Charlotte North Carolina, to John R. Coughlin and Julia (Gibson) Coughlin. Born during the Great Depression, Mary’s childhood was often met with great heartache and tragedy, in spite of this, she never let that effect her enormous capacity to love.

Mary became a Registered Nurse in 1952, graduating top of her class from Capital City Nursing in Washington DC, now American University. She went on to become head nurse of the emergency room at DC General Hospital. Her love for nursing spilled into all aspects of her life, a natural caregiver to all people she encountered on every path she walked, including all creatures great and small. Her husband, children and grandchildren being the greatest recipients of her skilled and gentle nursing.

Mary was a devout Irish Catholic who gave many years to serving the poor and homeless, visiting elderly shut-in’s, and was an active president of the women’s group in her parish of Our Lady of Visitation Catholic Church in Shippensburg, PA. Mary also had a passion for antique furniture and china, she became an antique dealer and also a representative for Replacement’s Ltd. until the age of 80. She also had a passion for finance and was an avid stock trader, and could give anyone interested a current market update on the spot. Above all of this, Mary was a homemaker extraordinaire, known for her gourmet cooking, the Toigo home was the setting of countless large gatherings featuring her Italian and Southern gourmet dinners that Mary cooked with great joy and pride - family was her greatest love. Anyone who knew and loved her can most certainly name one of their favorite meals or dishes that she would whip up the minute she knew you were on the way.

December 17,1955 was the happiest day of our mother’s life, she married our father, Clarence Gino Toigo. Without hesitation she considered our father the greatest blessing of her life, their marriage was the perfect example for their children. They were blessed with 65 years of marriage surrounded by family two landmark 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries, both of which were blessed by the Vatican.

Mary and Clarence’s love produced the following 4 children, Stephen (Terry) Toigo, Rosemary Toigo McBath (George Haubeil), Mark (Jaime) Toigo, Anne-Marie Toigo (Jim) Papageorge. 11 grandchildren Donnie (Amber) McBath, Stephanie (Ben) Wright, Danny (Kerry) Toigo, Dominique McBath, William (Shauna) McBath, Paul Toigo, Mary Papageorge, Teddy Papageorge, Tess Papageorge, Diamond and Passion Bragg. 5 Great Grandchildren, Stephen Toigo, Henry Wright, Brayden Toigo, Samuel Wright, and Madeline Wright. She loved nothing more than
hearing about each one of their lives daily, always beaming with great interest and pride.

Her presence amongst us will be dearly missed, yet we rejoice knowing that she is with God and has been reunited with our Dad, our brother Steve and so many more that she deeply mourned. With special love and gratitude we thank God for blessing us with Beth Davis. The tender and loving care that Beth provided to both of our parents was an absolute gift from above and we are eternally grateful.

God Made an Irish Mother
with gentle, helping hands
and a caring spirit that always understands.
He took the brightest stars
and put them in her eyes
He made her good and kind
wonderful and wise
God made an Irish mother,
as perfect as can be…
He filled her heart with love
that overflowed to me.