Mary Catherine Durland, born on June 30, 1947, in Chicago, passed away on March 15, 2026, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at the age of 78 after a battle with cancer.
She was the daughter of Margaret Elizabeth (née Jamieson) and John Joseph Fee, and she cherished her Irish heritage, with all four grandparents born in Ireland. A graduate of Mundelein College, Mary began her career as a teacher. She first married Frederick Littlefield and lived with him in Maine. After his early death, she remained in Maine, where she met her second husband, Lawrence Vining Durland, Jr. They married in 1978. On the day they met, St. Patrick’s Day 1978, Larry knew he had found not only an Irish beauty but “perhaps the nicest person I have ever met.” Those who came to know her over the years formed the same opinion.
Mary was known for her generosity and quiet kindness. She stepped in as a last-minute substitute teacher for her sons’ school and opened her home to aspiring teenage hockey players who needed a place to stay while chasing their dreams. After Larry’s retirement, the couple moved to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where she found deep fulfillment in volunteer work with Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly.
She is survived by her husband Lawrence, their two sons Lawrence III and John, four grandchildren, and her brother Terence. Her brother John predeceased her.
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