Meet Parishioner Mary
W
Grace Tassone
Blessed to Serve and Be Involved in Parish Life
hen Mary Grace Tassone was just “Being involved was a natural thing 5 years old, her family — her because of the way our parents taught parents and, at the time, six siblings us,” Mary Grace says. “I enjoyed — moved to California from being involved in everything. Michigan. She ended up having I think my favorite part was nine brothers and two sisters. bringing Communion to those Later, Mary Grace spent that couldn’t make it to Mass. three years studying nursing I was able to do this around — then in 1956, when her my nursing schedule.” mother passed, she came In addition to being home and helped raise her involved in the parish, five younger brothers. Her Mary was an OR nurse for father worked a lot in San 50 years. She had to learn Francisco, so Mary Grace often over the years how to balance spent time at home with the her demanding work schedule younger kids. with her desire to be involved in “I’m not sure if I raised them, or parish life. if they raised me,” Mary Grace says. “I “It wasn’t that hard to balance was a little more ‘old school’ and I learned because I wanted to be involved,” Mary Mary Grace Tassone a lot from the five of them.” Grace says. “I made sure I did my work Over the 80 years that Mary Grace duties, and then in my free time, I did has been a parishioner at St. Patrick, she has been whatever I could to help the parish.” involved in many different ways. When she was Mary Grace also spent two years in Lourdes. She young, she played the organ until the parish got a went to study a special vocation for single women professional organist. She sang in the choir, served as that, at the time, was not commonly known in the a lector, and was an Extraordinary Minister of Holy United States. There, she studied and learned about Communion. She also helped take Communion to the Church. To this day, she still has a strong devotion the sick, homebound, and those in nursing homes. to Our Lady of Lourdes and tries to listen to the Over the years, she helped the parish in any way she Rosary when it is streamed on her iPad from Lourdes. was able. Seven years ago, when Mary Grace was helping continued on back cover
“It wasn’t that hard to balance because I really wanted to be involved. I made sure I did my work duties, and then in my free time, I did whatever I could to help the parish.” — MARY GRACE TASSONE
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