Mary Steele Cooney

SALISBURY — Mary Cooney, 63, a beloved daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, died suddenly of a previously undiagnosed medical condition on Feb. 14, 2025.

Mary was born in Barre, Vermont on Dec. 22, 1961, the first child of Lucy Wright Cooney and George Scatchard. Mary spent her early childhood in Vermont, later moving with her mother and siblings to Brookline, Massachusetts, Little Compton, Rhode Island, and settling in Salisbury, Connecticut in 1973. Mary attended Salisbury Central School and graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School. At Housatonic, Mary discovered her love of theater, choral singing, and was a dedicated member of Future Farmers of America.

During her high school years, Mary, who never lost her joy in play, became the beloved babysitter for many local families. She delighted in playing with the kids, teaching them, loving them, and treasuring all the shared moments inherent in spending time with children.

Mary’s love of animals, and especially horses, blossomed during this time. A keen student of horseback riding, Mary acquired her own pony, Queen Anne, when she was 14 years old.Despite her seemingly quiet demeanor, with animals Mary was fearless, and she handled lively Queen Anne with bravery and spirit.

After graduating from Housatonic in 1980, Mary studied at Warren Wilson College in Asheville, North Carolina, and then at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, Canada, graduating in 1988 with a degree in Arts Management. After college, Mary moved to Vancouver, Canada where she worked for a music management group, Michael Godin Management. Mary never enjoyed the spotlight but preferred working hard behind the scenes. Her childhood role as the eldest in a large family prepared her well for the varied demands of managing performing artists.

Mary relocated to Edmonton, Canada in 1998. She loved the relaxed, informal feel of the city, enjoyed shopping for organic food at the local farmers’ markets, and developed a strong interest in natural living and regenerative farming. A longtime vegetarian, she enjoyed cooking and sharing meals with friends. She was an exceptionally skilled knitter and was never without a knitting project. She hated injustice of all kinds and believed passionately in the possibility of a fairer, more peaceful world.

Mary had an adventurous streak, which saw her backpacking through Europe as a college student in the 1980s. Later, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of traveling to Australia and working on a sheep ranch. Yet no matter where she was in the world, Mary maintained an intense loyalty and closeness to her family. Despite living her adult life in Canada, far from her roots in New England, Mary traveled home for family gatherings in the US and the UK and could always be relied upon to turn up whenever anyone needed her help. She had a special connection with her nieces and nephews and genuinely loved playing with them and joining in their games. A visit from Auntie Mary invariably resulted in shrieks of laughter from her young relatives.

Mary’s sudden death came as a devastating shock to her family, who mourn the loss of her wonderful sense of humor, her incredible generosity and selflessness, and most of all, her loving heart.

Mary is survived by her parents, Lucy Wright Cooney, Michael Cooney and his wife, Margot Bridgett, her sisters, Ellen and her husband Peter Mullin, Lorien and her husband Adam Smyer, Beecher Grogan, Alison and her husband Sasha Hinkley, Kelly Cooney, her brothers Bill Cooney and his wife Andrea Reyer, Sam, Chris, and, Aaron Cooney and his wife Cammi Fulvi, and fourteen nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her father, George, and her cherished niece, Lucy Grogan. Mary also leaves behind her beloved Canadian friends, Tristan Spearing, his fiancée Sara Wollstein, and Carol and Joe Lewis.

Mary’s memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 26, at 3:00 p.m., at Trinity Episcopal Church, 484 Lime Rock Road, Lakeville, Connecticut. Light refreshments will be served after the ceremony.

The family hopes to reconnect and share stories with local friends in the Salisbury area. We hope you can join us.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Clemmons Family Farm at clemmonsfamilyfarm.org or Oxfam at oxfamamerica.org.