Mary Rose DeMoranville

*Please note, the link, meeting ID, and passcode for the Zoom link for Mary’s graveside service is listed below*

Mary Rose DeMoranville, age 97, wife of the late Milton Arnold DeMoranville, passed away Tuesday September 14, 2021, at the Royal of Fairhaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center after a long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease. Delivered on her family’s kitchen table by a local midwife in Freetown, MA, on December 16, 1923, Mary was the daughter of the late Edgar Howard and Marian Rose (Machiel) DeMoranville and a seventh generation native (all of whom lived on Quanapoag Road along the Dartmouth/Freetown line). 

Nine years later, Mary and her father stopped across town to gas up his bread delivery truck at young Milton’s father’s gas station where 10-year-old Milt first saw Mary and fell in love. After Milton was drafted into WWII, they married when Mary was 18. With her new husband away for two years, she nursed her dying father, raised her baby daughter, babysat two other neighborhood children while their mothers worked, and tended the family’s extensive gardens.

Always a teacher, she formed the 4-H TABU Club (Try and Beat Us) to teach teen girls how to make their clothing and that of their family — winter coats to party dresses, lingeree and bathing suits. Annually they held a fashion and talent show, set up a stellar 4-H display in the Sear’s store windows, and competed each fall at the Freetown Grange and Rehoboth County Fairs, earning ribbons and prize money. Many of the girls and her daughter became counselors at 4-H summer camp and won county, state and national 4-H awards. A head cheerleader herself, Mary held practices in her backyard, teaching her head cheerleader daughter and the rest of her squad the vocal and acrobatic skills to excel. Because Milton was a Senior Corrections Officer who worked afternoon/evening shifts at the Bridgewater Correctional State Farm, she taught a generation of Freetown youngsters to love dancing. For years, Mary held weekly record hops on her paved driveway. She, Donna and Kent would watch American Bandstand to learn new dance steps, buy the latest hit records, and teach everyone else. There were rules, however: “If asked to dance, you could not refuse even if it was your little brother and no foul language or bad behavior.”After her children grew up, she joined her mother and neighbors who worked at J.I. Paulding’s, a manufacturer of electronic switches and sockets. 

At 40 years old, the day Mary was hired as a Substitute Teacher at Mattapoisett Center School, she enrolled at Bridgewater State University as a part-time student. Ultimately, she received her Master of Education, was revered by her students and their parents, and retired after 25 years. She was awarded Teacher of the Year, but her greatest contribution was that she amazingly had successfully graduated all of her Mattapoisett learning-challenged students!

Among many other community contributions, she was a member of the Freetown Congregational Church, a lifetime member of the VFW Women’s Auxiliary, a member of St. Theresa’s Senior Group, and a former member of the Royal Traveler’s Club. Mary is survived by her daughter Donna Rose DeMoranville Turgeon of Lady Lake, FL, grandchildren Scott Garrett Turgeon of Palm City, FL, Seth DeMoranville of Somerset, MA, Jason DeMoranville of Aurora, CO, Brandon DeMoranville of Philadelphia, PA, Dylan DeMoranville of Biddeford, ME, Amy Lynn Taylor Cutting of Middleboro, MA, Richard Howard Taylor of Lakeville, MA, and Rebecca Louise Taylor Donahue of North Kingston, RI, great grandchildren Bryce Garrath and Connor Patrick Turgeon of Palm City, FL, and her beloved companion Roland Castonguay of Acushnet, MA. Mary was predeceased by her son Kent Arnold DeMoranville. Visitation for Mary will be held on Friday October 1, 2021, from 5:00 – 8:00PM at Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Home 280 Bedford Street Lakeville, MA 02347. A graveside service will be held at 11:00AM on Saturday October 2, 2021, at Chace Cemetery on Chace Road in East Freetown, MA where Mary will be laid to rest with her late husband Milton. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary’s memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association to support research and care by visiting their website at www.ALZ.org.

Join Zoom Meeting 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84544845464?pwd=MnRBWDhmbC9wKzBFUWFCLzUvS0NJQT09

Meeting ID: 845 4484 5464 
Passcode: 862357

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