Marion Poinan

Marion Poinan
September 25, 1922 ~ May 14, 2006

Name: Marion Frances Walsh Poinan
Life Dates: 9/25/1922 - 5/14/2006
City Of Birth: Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Pre-deceased by
Her husband of 51 years, John F. Poinan; daughter, Mary Jo Antczak and son-in-law, Mark Antczak.
Survived by
Her sons, John (Marie), Robert (Edie), Richard (Pat) and Michael (Lisa); grandchildren, Tim, Kevin (Ashley), Katherine, Casey, Alyssa, Jenna and Molly Poinan, Meaghan and Kayla Antczak; great grandchildren, Malachy, Connor and Mylie Poinan, Ethan Cameron.
History
Born In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Marion Frances Walsh grew up with sister Margaret and brothers Leo and John. She was the youngest of 4 children of Joseph Walsh Margaret "Maggie" Higgins. Her mother Maggie had been born in Ireland and Marion grew up listening to stories about her County Mayo relatives. She was enormously proud of her Irish heritage. After graduating from Pawtucket High School, she traveled to Boston to enlist in the Coast Guard during World War II. After basic training in Tampa, Florida, she heard that she would be stationed in Hawaii, but wound going to Ketchikan, Alaska. Not quite what she had envisioned for her tour of duty, but the "luck of the Irish" was with her. While on a double date in Ketchikan, she met her future husband, John. (He was the OTHER girl's date!) John and Marion were married in St. Theresa's Church in Pawtucket on April 19, 1947. Leaving her family and friends behind, she traveled to her new home in Rochester. Marion first lived with her in-laws, Edward and Frances Burns Poinan, on Upton Park. From there, she and her husband went to live in a cottage in White City. In 1949, John Patrick arrived- the first child for John and Marion. Robert followed in 1950 and Richard in 1952. Content to be the mother of 3 boys, Marion was quite surprised when 9 years later, she found out that she was going to have another baby. This time, it was TWINS- Mary Jo and Michael arrived in 1960. And Marion finally had her "girl." Before the twins had even arrived, the family had outgrown that little Irondequoit cottage, so John and Marion built their house in Greece in 1957- the last place that they would call home. Yes, it was a very BUSY Poinan household with 5 kids- Marion worked days and her husband worked nights. She could come home from work and whip up dinner in an hour, change diapers, give baths and then start doing the chores. The older boys (ages 10, 9 and 8) helped out with the twins. For years, Mary Jo and Mike would be referred to as "the babies." We think back and wonder how she ever managed two full-time jobs! Sports played an important role in the life of the Poinans. There was baseball, basketball volleyball and golf. Both Marion and John played golf and belonged to Craig Hill (now Deerfield) Country Club. When her husband retired from Rochester Products division of General Motors, Marion and John spent their winters in Ocala Florida where they had a house. They both continued to play golf. In the mid-nineties, John became seriously ill and they returned to Rochester. Marion spent the next several years caring for him at home so that he would not have to go to a nursing home. She was devoted to her "Johnnie." They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997. Marion was extremely proud of her service in the Coast Guard service. At the yearly Greece parade, she would bring out her enormous Coast Guard flag and waved it as the "Coasties" and their boat marched by in front of her seat. Marion's daughter died in 1997. Her husband, John, died a year later in 1998. Although the loss was enormous, Marion was content in being "Gramma" to her nine grandchildren- Tim, Kevin, Catherine and Casey Poinan, Meaghan and Kayla Antczak, Alyssa, Jenna and Molly Poinan. She lived to see two of her grandchildren get married and the birth of great-grandchildren Malachy, Connor and Mylie Poinan. In her late seventies, Marion became too ill to stay alone and she went to live at her son Bob's house. Following her example of care and devotion towards their father, Bob, Edie and John took care of their Mom for almost two years, so that she did not have to go to a nursing home. Marion loved reading and doing crossword puzzles. She loved Wegmans and Northgate, listening to Mantovani records, trying out new recipes and buying the newest kitchen gadget. She loved to go shopping with Mary Jo. Her favorite color was turquoise and her favorite flowers were gardenias. The children will all tell you that their mother never did quite lose her New England accent, although she swore that she had! They would tease her for years about her pronunciation of "ahh-range" and "Gahh-bage," which to the rest of us were orange and garbage. Ask anyone what her most endearing quality was and you will probably get the same answer- her sense of humor. She could find the humor in any situation. Marion had nicknames for everything- her kids, her neighbors and even her cars! She was known to have a bit of a "lead foot" when she drove. She loved St. Jude and Padre Pio. And of course, she loved anything and everything Irish! Marion chose to leave us on Mother's Day, May 14th, which is also Michael and Mary Jo's birthday. Hopefully, there wasn't too long of a line to get into heaven, because she would have been annoyed! She never did like to wait in a line! But God was surely there to say "FAILTE," which means "welcome" in Gaelic. We all know that she is happy to be reunited with her beloved John and Mary Jo. And she is surely waving that Coast Guard flag and even happier to have someone to help peel all those potatoes! We'll miss you Mom, Gramma, Great-grandma. But you have not left us. You touched each of our lives and you will always be in our hearts.
Donations
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the American Diabetes Association, PO Box 1131, Fairfax, VA 22038 or St. Jude Children's Hospital, 501 Jude Place, Memphis, TN 28105.
Services
BARTOLOMEO PEROTTO Funeral Home, Inc. 1411 Vintage Lane (between 390 Long Pond Rd.) where Marion's visitation will be Wednesday 4-8 PM. Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated 9 AM at Thursday at St. Charles Borromeo Church (3003 Dewey Ave.) Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.