MARY F. (McCauley) GOULD

GOULD, Mary F. (McCauley), 96, of Carrs Trail, passed away on Wednesday, July 15 at the Woodpecker Hill Health Center in Greene. She was the beloved wife of Fred Gould. They were married for 70 years.

Born in Providence, she was a daughter of the late William and Edna (Riley) McCauley.

Mary was a stay at home mom until Dennis and Cheryl graduated high school.
Thereafter she could be seen traveling I95 to and from her work in Providence
in a bright orange 1973 BMW that she was so proud of. One was not likely to
catch her if she got ahead of you. Often she came home beaming when anyone
talked to her about her car. She was a special lady in so many ways. When
getting to know her, invariably you would find out she was quite proud of her
Irish heritage. Mary was fun to be around with that great smile she
had. She loved square and round dancing with Fred over the course of some
twenty years. She was a sharp dresser and never left the house without being well put together from head to toe. 
Mary loved to read and cook. She searched endlessly for recipes for dinners and
desserts. She was a stickler for detail which made her the great cook that she was. 
One night, when the children were younger, Fred came home and they sat down
to eat. Mary was eager for some positive feedback on the dinner she had worked hard on, which she got from her children. Fred, however, was sometimes a bit slow with the "this is good Mary" comments. When
she inquired whether he liked the meal, he sat straight up and said, "I'll let
you know when it is not good". She turned away and left the room without a
word. A little bit of her Irish heritage caught up with Fred when for three
straight nights he came home with no dinner awaiting him. He got the message!

Mary had other talents and skills in addition to being a super mom. She was a
particularly good roller skater and competed in roller skate dancing competitions before
she was married. After a considerable break and after her children graduated,
she returned to skating a couple of nights a week continuing with her love of roller skate 
dancing. She pursued this passion until she turned 77 and finally hung up her skates after having broken her shoulder and wrists one too many times! However, she was not done with her love of dancing as she then took up
tap dancing with a group of senior ladies who ironically performed tap dancing skits before patients in nursing homes. Little did she know she would have to move into one of those homes in the near future. She stopped tap dancing at the age of 85.

Some of Mary's best memories came from her many summers spent on Lake
Winnipesaukee. She was an excellent swimmer and enjoyed her time reading and
talking with friends in the water and on the dock. She loved to go out in the
boat with Fred and the kids traveling around the lake and swimming off the
transom. She also became a rather good water skier when on two skis. 
Mary was a bit of a dare devil though in that she wanted very much to learn to slalom ski except that she was very concerned that if she fell she would lose her teeth and so would keep her mouth tightly shut. She acknowledged this fear many times, as she was so concerned she would fall, open
her mouth and surrender her pearly whites to the bottom of the lake that she
could not completely concentrate on learning to get onto one ski. When on two
skis she had more confidence but the look on her face with her jaw
clenched so tightly seemed to say otherwise. God bless her for trying.

Mary also enjoyed doing arts and crafts. She was an excellent painter on old slate
shingles and made many beautiful floral wreaths. She also painted backgrounds on slate clocks that 
she would make up. She was an avid animal lover and her many dogs were always treated as members of the family.

Mary will be sorely missed by all who knew her and especially by
her son, Dennis, and daughter, Cheryl. She will also be missed by the caring
staff at Woodpecker Hill Health Center. She was quite energetic and used to
drive her wheelchair through the halls of the nursing home like she was
driving her cherished BMW. Very often the staff would have to go looking for
her, as she would be in their presence one minute and gone the next motoring
around or visiting other patients' rooms. Memories of her infectious smile and
"Hey, I'm Irish and don't forget it" demeanor will not soon be forgotten. 
May she once again be with Fred and rest in peace.

She is survived by her son, Dennis M. Gould and his wife Susan of Gorham, ME and daughter Cheryl 
A. St. Jean, wife of Arthur St. Jean (deceased) of Greene, RI. She is also
survived by a grandson, Jefrey M. Gould, his wife Carly, and great
granddaughters, Julia A. and Mary C, of Worcester, MA and grandson, Kris M.
Gould and great granddaughter, Kendal A. and great grandson, Shayne M., of
Princeton, MA. She was the sister of the late William and Joseph McCauley.

Her Visitation will be held on Thursday, July 23 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the IANNOTTI Funeral Home, 415 Washington St. (Rte.117), Coventry with a Funeral Service to follow at 7:30 p.m.  Inurnment in Riverbend Cemetery in Westerly, will be private for the family.  iannottifh.com

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