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Marian T. Bunce

marian bunce

February 27, 1931 ~ October 23, 2018

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Marian T. Bunce, age 87, died peacefully at home with family on October 23, 2018. Daughter of the late Thomas and Mary (Parsons) Grady, she was born February 27, 1931 in Brackloon, Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. She is survived by her four devoted children: Maureen T. Bunce M.D. of Eliot ME, Annmarie Bunce of Shoreham NY, Arthur J. Bunce III of Shoreham NY, and Thomas G. Bunce of St. Petersburg FL; her sister, Noreen French, of Ridge NY; and her brother Thomas Grady of Co Mayo, Ireland. She also leaves a well-loved extended family including many generations of nieces and nephews, cousins, and good friends. Marian was predeceased by her beloved husband Arthur J. “Bud” Bunce Jr., her sister Evelyn Devlin of Woodhaven NY and her brother John “Jack” Grady of Manchester, England. A graduate of Hunter College (1955), she taught for over 30 years in Plainview-Old Bethpage Schools, where she met Bud. He courted her from Hempstead to the Upper East Side of NYC. They married and moved to Huntington Station NY, where they raised their family. Soon after he was hired as the principal at Harley Avenue Elementary School in Elwood NY. Devoted to their faith, they were active parishioners at St Hugh of Lincoln RC Church, members of the Huntington Yacht Club, and various church, educational, and community organizations. Summers were spent boating, swimming, and camping up and down the eastern seaboard, as well as on trips to Ireland and the UK. They passed their life long enthusiasm for education to their children, three of whom were trained as teachers. Marian had a long, active, and fruitful retirement, which she divided between her homes in Ridge NY and Boca Raton FL. She was a daily communicant and dedicated member of her faith communities of St Mark’s RC Church in Shoreham NY and St Jude’s RC Church in Boca Raton FL, serving for decades as an Eucharistic minister, teaching the children of migrant workers, and in many other roles. An avid golfer, traveler, and gardener, she always had time for a game of bridge or hosting company from home and abroad. She traveled extensively, as well as making many trips to visit family in Ireland and throughout the US. Always eager to be of help, Marian was a hardworking volunteer, wonderful friend, and loving daughter, mother, sister, and aunt. She lived her faith daily, in everything she did. Celebration of the Mass of Christian burial will be held 10:00 am on Wednesday, October 31st at St. Mark's RC Church, 105 Randall Road, Shoreham, NY. Burial will follow in Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury, NY. Visiting hours will be Monday, October 29th from 2-4 & 7-9 PM and Tuesday, October 30th from 2-4 & 7-9 PM at the Rocky Point Funeral Home, 603 Route 25A, Rocky Point, NY. www.rockypointfuneralhome.com. .

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  1. It saddens me to hear of family members passing. I have vivid memories of family gatherings for every occasion. I can still hear the laughter and enthusiasm from Aunt Marian. She is now reunited with uncle Bud. god bless you.

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  2. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers during this time. She was a very special lady! May all your wonderful memories carry you through.
    With our love and prayers,
    Wendy, Andrew
    Devin & Drew

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  3. Mrs. Bunce,

    You were a big part of my growing up. I almost lived in your house. I know that you are in heaven. Say hello to my mother for me. Rest in peace.

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  4. My sincere condolences are extended to the entire Bunch family !! As Marian’s Boca Raton neighbor, I will definitely miss her loving ways, her beautiful flowers, her giving spirit, and her wealth of energy !! Marian was a definite inspiration to all who knew her !! Boca Lakes will not be the same without our beautiful “snowbird” who brightened our world every winter !! My prayers and thoughts are with her entire family at this difficult time !! Marian will never be forgotten !
    With love, Dianne

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  5. To the Bunce family,
    My heart is with you all as you honor and celebrate Marion’s long and fulfilling life. She was a true gem of a soul, and a kind, feisty, spirited, loving woman. She will be dearly missed.
    With love to you.
    Gail Wingate

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  6. Dear Aunt Marion
    You will be sadly missed by all of your family and friends. You were such a wonderful and caring sweet lady.
    May God take you to heaven.
    Rest In Peace
    Love always
    Paddy Angela Danny Aibhinn and Tara

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  7. Aunt Marian, you were kind and generous to all, and were always an inspiration. We cherish the times we had with you and are so lucky to have had so many family gatherings. We will miss you!
    Love and prayers,
    Eileen, Larry, Ali and Lisa

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  9. I am so sad to hear about my Aunt Marian. She was so special to me and was like a grandmother to me. She was kind, thoughtful, loving and generous and was a woman with the biggest heart. She always put other people before her and made everyone feel welcome when they visited. She was always very active which I really admired. Playing golf up until 85 is some achievement and I really admired that. She was a fantastic cook and I was so glad she got to show me how to cook her special dish, chicken Marsala with my favourite wild rice. I will never forget that day. I have so many wonderful memories with her both in Ireland and in the Us. I always loved spending time with Aunt Marian because she was both fun and interesting. I had a special bond with her where I would do the opposite of what she says or just mess with her. She enjoyed bossing people around so I would always make a laugh out of it when she did it to me. She loved it when I did it to her. She was also an extremely interesting and educated woman. I loved speaking about how she emigrated and worked extremely hard to go to college. She was one of the most religious person I have ever met. She wanted to live life like God wants us to do and she definitely fulfilled that. I know that God will welcome her with open arms into heaven where she will be with her husband Bud and all her other deceased family and friends. I was so sad to see you go but I know your up in heaven now and I know we you will always be looking over me. You were modern day saint in my eyes and I will miss you. I hope you knew that I loved you very much and that you had a special place in my heart.
    Lots of Love
    Rory

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  10. To the Bunce family,
    My heart goes out to you all as you celebrate your mom’s life and grieve her loss.
    May she rest In Peace.
    Kelli Moran

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  25. My deepest sympathy to the Bunce family! Marion was a very good friend to my Mom and to all the Corry family! I have some wonderful memories of Marian & her late husband! RIP Marian.

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  26. Every time I saw Marion she made my day better. She was that kind of person. Very kind, a lovely smile. I enjoyed looking at her paintings, she will be missed in our Leisure Village community. My deepest sympathy to her children and sister Noreen.
    Carmen PuglieseRP64D

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  27. Dear Maureen, Annmarie, Art and Tom,
    So sorry to hear that your mum, Marian, has passed away. May she rest in peace. Thinking of you all at this sad time.
    With love,
    Tim Nicholls
    Bristol U.K.

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  28. So sorry to hear about the death of my dearest Aunty Marian. She was so special to me. She was like a grandmother to me. She was the kindest, most-thoughtful, caring and generous person with the biggest heart. She treated us with the upmost love and care every time that travelled to Ireland or when she welcomed us to her homes in Boca Raton and in Shoreham. She gave us great memories. I know that the Morrin family always enjoyed the trip to Aunty Marian because there was never anything too much for her, whether it was cooking or collecting us from the airport. She was one of the wisest people that I knew. She thought me the importance of education and pushed me to make the most of all the opportunities that I am given. She pushed me to work hard when I moved school to Clongowes. After hearing my leaving cert results she was one of the first people I called to tell her the good news and she was overjoyed to hear that I was going to be studying in Trinity. Aunt Marian also taught me so much about the importance of religion. She taught me that to have faith in God is something special and carries no burden. She attended mass every day and was also a Eucharistic minister. That is why I undertook a role as a Eucharistic Minister in school. She lived out her life as God wants us all to live our lives by living life to the full. She never slowed down and was always active whether it was playing golf, playing bridge and even driving. Aunt Marian was a very educated and interesting woman and I really enjoyed sitting down with her and having a conversation with her. It saddens me to know that she is gone now but I know that she is now with her husband bud and she will be welcomed through the gates of heaven with open arms. I am really going to miss you but you will always have a special place in my heart. I hope you know that I loved you so much.

    Lots of love,

    David

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  29. SO sad to hear of Marian’s death – she was a true lady full of warmth, energy and love. i have great memories of her from the first time I met her in 1989 to summer 2018 when we spent time with her while on holidays in USA. I know Maureen, Anne Marie, Arthur and Tommy will miss her but the Morrin family will miss her also. She always came to any of our family gatherings and always brought her great energy and great sense of fun to these occasions . I will miss her

    May she rest in peace

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  30. I would like to offer my most sincere condolences to the Bunce and Grady families on the loss of dear Marian. I first met Marian 25 years ago with her husband Bud and sisters Evelyn and Noreen , in her brother Tom’s house in Mayo.. my first memory is of the love, affection and esteem in which she was held by her siblings , nieces and nephews. Her warmth and intelligence were obvious and we quickly hit it off . She told me stories of her life as an emigrant, the opportunities she had there ; her work as a teacher. America was home , but her pride in her Irish homeland and family was immense.

    Over the years I got to know Marian better at many Grady gatherings. . She was always held in great affection and was a very special person to me. She was one of the most energetic and positive people I have ever met . And very dynamic . She did not sit back when there was something to be done or someone to help. Ultimately I used to tell her I wanted to adopt her as my auntie too ! Her kind and generous spirit will live on in all her knew her . She was a true lady.

    May you all find consolation in the wonderful memories Yours sincerely ,

    Pauline Codd

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  31. So sorry to learn of Marian’s passing. Our group (RMYC) enjoyed many travel adventures with her. She was alway so energetic and able to do many more activities than those 14 years younger. The first thing she would do on a cruise was to find out where Mass was daily if possible and somehow manage to attend.

    She will be greatly missed by everyone and may she be flying with the Angels above.

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  52. I will always remember the warmth of her heart and depth of her and Art’s spirituality. Having “married into” their family, the open arms and generosity were always treasured.

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  54. I loved your parents so much…Christmas Eve at the Bunce’s with Aunt Marian cooking all the favorite dishes and Uncle Art dragging in what had to be the last tree on the lot at the 11th hour for us to decorate. From my days at Oak Drive Elementary to their hosting of my bridal shower to fun times at the Huntington Yacht Club, our families have always been intertwined. I remember being at Uncle Art’s funeral while the bagpipes played “Amazing Grace” with tears streaming down my face. With my family being Jewish, and yours Catholic…I got to experience Catholicism up close and personal. Your mother epitomized what I understood to be a “good Catholic”…faith, charity, service. She lived her faith every single day…attending Mass daily…and always giving of her time, energy, and love. She set the bar high, and was always an inspiration to me with her good works. I’m sorry if this is long, but I just wanted all of you to know how much I loved and respected her and how much I will miss her infectious laugh and her ever-present Irish brogue. God speed Aunt Marian…❤️

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  55. So sorry to hear of the passing of a dear and wonderful lady, Aunt Marian. Excitement would build up in Mayo, when the news broke that she was coming home – these holidays normally coincided with special family occasions such as communions, confirmations etc. Every year when leaving, she would have said that it was her turn to return the complement. We did accept the invite on more than one occasion to go to America. We have such lovely memories of those visits. We have to mention the sweet potato with marshmallows on top, spinach pie and of course the S’mores…….
    We will miss her dearly – she was a fantastic woman who was an inspiration to all, and who had a deep and wonderful faith.

    Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

    Arthur, Geraldine, Rebecca, Sarah and Emma Grady.

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  56. We were all really heart broken to hear of Aunt Marian’s passing. She was so special to us and always put a smile on our face. We have such great memories of her last visit to Ireland. She was such a warm, kind and inspirational lady. She is in a better place now with her husband Bud, Sister Evelyn and brother Jack but she will be truly missed by us all.
    All our love to Maureen, Annmarie, Arthur and Tommy. We are thinking of you all at this time.
    Lorraine, Jack, Conor, Eoin and Orlaith

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  57. Saint Jude Parish in Boca Raton, FL gives thanks to God for the life and witness of Marian. We extend our condolences to her family. May she Rest In Peace.

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  58. I wil be sending some pictures to you….Please post them to your Mom’s Memory wall for me….The one in the pool from last year is wonderful…we were in the pool for almost three hours…then decided we should get out and have some lunch…we just had so much to talk about that the time flew by…how I will miss Marion …..Florida will be so empty without her….Love, Virginia

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  59. Aunt Marian was truly one of a kind. She was like the grandmother I never really had as, both my grandmothers were dead by the time I started school. I will always have fond memories of arriving into Marian’s for dinner after travelling half way across the world that same day. She was always insistent that we had to eat and she would always have cooked her chicken and rice special as she knows that is mine and Rory’s favourite. The positive mental attitude that Marian carried with her here throughout her life was another stellar feature of her personality. I knew Marian for 21 years and I can’t recollect a time where I ever saw her down in the dumps. It’s actually quite the opposite as I have several recollections of Marian being the life and soul of whatever room she was in. The one thing I envied about Aunt Marian was her ability to be so active with the church and her golf club in her later years. She really was the perfect example for displaying that “age is only a number”. I will truely miss her and I hope that she is at peace with uncle Bud

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  68. Aunt Marian was always appalled when she would come to our house and see how messy our closets were. I would go to school for the day when she visited and I would come back to my closet in perfect shape. She would say “Now this is how a closet should look! Keep it this way!” We would smile and laugh and I’d thank her saying I would do better. Of course the next time she came down we would repeat this same process.

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  69. Sending our deepest sympathy and condolences to your family. With a friendship spanning almost 30 years with Ted and the family, I am deeply saddened and so sorry for your loss. Marian was a steady force in the family, who always had a kind word and a great laugh. She will be missed.
    With love,

    Syndi & Family

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  73. We will always cherish our memories of the many summers we spent in the company of Aunt Marian on Long Island and in other many locations on the East Coast. May God rest her gentle soul.

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  74. Marion,
    I will remember you standing on Maureen’s old New England deck with the ocean behind you, dressed for mass with your pearls~ chafing at the bit, & ready to go, as always!
    Loved your impish smile too ~ you were like a light that was always on!
    Love,
    Charlotte

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  76. You all gave your Mom so much love and happiness. She was a lucky woman. I hope that your memories will soon fill the hole in your hearts after the sadness departs.

    I enjoyed her attendance at board meetings of the Scudder Association. I thought of her as a matriarch, the head of a great family. I admired her gentleness and I hugely respected her. She certainly made the world a better place.

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