Mary O'Rourke

Mary O’Rourke (nee Werle), 83, of Nissequogue passed away peacefully on June 7th in The Villages, Florida after a valiant battle with lymphoma. Mary was born in Ozone Park, Queens on November 9, 1939, the first child of Louis and Teresa (Tessie) Werle. Her only sibling, Bill Werle, predeceased her in 2017.
Mary attended Richmond Hill High School and Queens College, where she studied English and communications. While raising three children, Mary worked as a real estate agent and she also worked at Colonie Hill in Hauppauge in its heyday, where she was quickly befriended by a coterie of celebrity guests who performed at the club.
While she enjoyed a snowbird’s life in recent years, traveling between her homes in Florida and on Long Island, Saint James and Nissequogue were her home for over 60 years. Throughout many of those years, she and her husband, James J. O’Rourke Jr., who predeceased her in 2008, were active members of Saint George’s Golf and Country Club and The Nissequogue Golf Club.
Among her family and friends, she was always known as the belle of the ball, appearing at every celebration she attended in her trademark hats, sparkling jewelry and high heels.
Mary is survived by her children, Cindee Lou, David and Mickey. She is also survived by four grandchildren: Dustin, Brittnie, Shane and Jamie, as well as two great-grandchildren, Emilia and Wrenlie.
Memorial visitation will be at The Branch Funeral Home in Smithtown on Wednesday, June 14th from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. A Catholic funeral mass will be held on Thursday, June 15th at 10:15am at Saints Philip and James RCC in Saint James. Private burial to follow.