Mary Hackett's Obituary
Mary Hackett, age 91 of Madison Heights, Michigan, passed away on April 5, 2020, at Beaumont Hospital in Troy, a victim of COVID-19. She was born on February 6, 1929, in Detroit to Anthony and Josephine Vaccaro, both from Bompietro, Sicily.
She was the beloved wife of George Hackett (deceased) for 55 years, dear mother of Antero “Terry” Hackett (deceased) and Mary Jo Miles (Peter), grandmother of Jonathon and Erin Miles, and Nama Nama (great grandmother) of Andrew.
Mary attended St. Mary School in Greektown and St. Anthony High School in Detroit. Her first job was at Hudson’s in downtown Detroit, her favorite place in the world, aside from church. She also worked as a secretary for an executive at Ford.
She traveled to Perugia, Italy, in 1958 to adopt her son, Terry, when he was 5. In 1965 she went to Toronto, Canada, and adopted her daughter, Mary Jo, who was 14 months old.
A devout Catholic, she was a founding member of St. Rene Goupil Parish in Sterling Heights, Michigan, where she helped set up many programs and organizations including Religious Education for children, Funeral Lunches, and Wedding Rehearsals. At St. Rene, she coordinated gift programs for children at the Sarah Fisher Home, the Goodfellows doll program, and numerous other fundraisers for the parish. Her proudest accomplishment was founding the St. Rene Women’s Club which was a social and religious club that held many activities such as card parties, fashion shows, garage sales, and faith formation programs for its members.
To comply with the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” order and an inability to have a Catholic funeral mass due to the pandemic, viewing will be private, with a live streamed rosary and visitation, Wednesday, April 8th from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm (please call the funeral home at 248-585-7770 to receive the link by email). At a later date, a public Mass of Christian Burial with her cremains will be held at St. Rene Goupil Parish in Sterling Heights, followed by interment at Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum in Southfield, Michigan.
Instead of flowers, please send Panera Bread individual box lunches (they are individually wrapped) meal donations to the “2E Unit Nurses at Beaumont Troy” who lovingly risk their lives to care for COVID-19 patients like Mary, especially now when family cannot be present. Email: [email protected] if you would like to arrange for Panera meals to be sent to the “2E Unit Nurses at Beaumont Troy.” They will give you details on what to do.
Funeral Mass with cremains will take place at 9:30 am on Wednesday, October 7, 2020, at St. Rene Goupil Parish, 35955 Ryan Road, Sterling Heights, Michigan. A video of a rosary that took place on April 8 at the funeral home will be shown at St. Rene at 9:00 am before the funeral mass. Face masks and social distancing are mandatory. A private Committal and Interment of cremains will take place at Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum in Southfield, Michigan, following mass.
What’s your fondest memory of Mary?
What’s a lesson you learned from Mary?
Share a story where Mary's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Mary you’ll never forget.
How did Mary make you smile?
