KILMARNOCK—Mary Ellen Congel (Taylor) passed away on June 13, 2025, in Kilmarnock.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 60 years, Frank J. Congel; and three children, Karin (Corey) Truxon, Suzie (Barry) Wittenberg and Frank A. Congel. She also has five cherished grandchildren, Jaclynn, Zoe, Dylan Truxon and Brandon, Lauren Wittenberg. Her sister, Dorothy (Ron) Remonda lives in Dunnellon, Fla.; and her brother, Bill (Sue) Taylor lives in Syracuse, N.Y.. She also has many nieces and nephews.
Both her parents, William E and Christina Taylor; and her sister, Carol Pelky, predeceased her.
Mary was born in Syracuse on January 24, 1943. She lived in Tipperary Hill until her family moved to suburban Fairmount. She graduated from West Genesee High School in 1961 and continued her education at Onondaga Community College.
In 1965, Mary and Frank married and began their life journey. Over the next seven years, they lived in New York State, Illinois and Minnesota, adding two girls to the family. They ultimately settled in Maryland, adding a boy to the lively group.
Mary became adept in setting up households and her warm personality readily led to lasting friendships. She was still in touch with friends made decades ago.
In addition to loving her role as a mom, grandma and homemaker, she performed volunteer work at our local church. When all three kids were school age, she resumed her college education and received her bachelor’s from Hood College the same year that her oldest daughter completed high school.
Two of her hobbies occupied much of her time. She started with creating stained glass decorative pieces. The results were good enough to bring bids at charitable auctions where she donated her work. Of course, the house had decorative pieces prominently displayed everywhere.
When her interest in stained glass waned, she began sewing and quilting projects, again donating and selling much of her work at local charity events. By this time, she was a grandma, so all the grandkids had some blankets and other handmade items to keep them warm. She even made quilts for the grandkids’ baby dolls.
Throughout much of her adult life, Mary suffered from a rare disease, Cushing’s Syndrome. It first appeared when she was only 32 years old. After a difficult year, she was cured, thanks to the research doctors at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. This allowed her to return to raising her kids who were only 2, 5, and 6 years old at the time.
Unfortunately, the disease returned when she was in her early 50s, causing her continuous serious health problems for the rest of her life. But she had an indomitable spirit. She was always smiling and never complained about her condition. One person characterized her handling of this problem as reflecting “grace and class.” She was always most thankful for the cure that allowed her to raise her three children and see all five grandkids reach adulthood.
She will be greatly missed.
There will be a Celebration of Life in her honor at 2 p.m. July 20 at Hills Quarter Community Center, (hillsquarterva.com) 723 Old Saint Johns Road, Irvington, VA 22480
