Mary G. (Murphy) Whalen, 96, of Rochester, formerly of New Bedford passed away Saturday February 18, 2017 after a brief illness. She was the wife of the late John W. Whalen.
Born in New Bedford, the daughter of the late Edward D. and Margaret G. (Gibbons) Murphy, she lived in New Bedford for nine decades before moving to her daughter’s home in Rochester in 2010.
She was a lifelong parishioner of St. Lawrence Church, where she was a member of the Guard of Honor Society.
Mrs. Whalen was a pioneer in the Special Education Department of the New Bedford Public Schools, having primarily taught at Keith Junior High School.
She was a member of the Catholic Woman’s Club. She was a graduate of Sacred Hearts Academy in Fall River and the College of New Rochelle.
She is survived by three children, John W. Whalen, Jr. and his wife Constance of Fairhaven, Mark E. Whalen and his wife Cherilyn of Dartmouth, and Ann M. Desrosiers and her husband Paul of Rochester; six grandchildren, Erin C. Whalen, Jessica E. Buonopane, Brian S. Whalen, Luke M. Whalen, Amy E. Carlson, and Megan K. Desrosiers; and eight great-grandchildren.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday at 11 AM at St. Lawrence Church. Burial will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Visitation will be on Wednesday morning from 9-10:30 AM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to St. Lawrence Parish Food Pantry, 110 Summer St., New Bedford. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
