Obituary of Mary V. Portman

WESTFIELD - Mrs. Mary V. (Brennan) Portman, age 90, of East Main Road, Westfield, died Friday, August 28, 2015 at home following a brief illness. Mary was born on December 31, 1924 in Carnegie, PA, a daughter of the late William and Clara (Miller) Brennan. She married Andrew F. Portman on September 14, 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA. Mary was a 1943 graduate of St. Luke's High School in Carnegie, PA, where she was ranked first in her class. She and her husband Andy moved to Westfield in 1951, where they owned and operated a farm for several years before starting to convert the land into Pinehurst Golf Course in the mid-1960s. They and their family ran the golf course together for 41 years. Mary was a devoted parishioner of St. Dominic Roman Catholic Church where she served in several capacities, including as a Eucharistic Minister. She was also active in her community and had been a volunteer Gray Lady at the Westfield Memorial Hospital. Mary enjoyed playing games and cards and was a decades-long member of several bridge clubs; she was an avid reader, loved jigsaw puzzles, and was a football and hockey fan. She was an excellent cook and loved to bake, and excelled at needlework, crocheting, and craft projects. But most of all, Mary cherished her family and loved being a wife, mother, and grandmother. Mary is survived by her husband of 68 years, Andrew F. Portman, her daughter, Mary Ellen (Joe) Mike of North East, PA and her four sons, Michael A. (Theo) Portman and Thomas J. (Deborah) Portman both of Westfield, David G. (Kathie) Portman of Cincinnati, OH, and Christopher P. (Carol) Portman of Downers Grove, IL. Mary was the very proud grandmother of Michael P. and Stephen M. Portman, Laura A. (Chad) Schofield, David B. Portman, and Erin M. and Katherine A. Portman. She is further survived by her great-grandchildren Lanie, Cal, and Claire Schofield, by her sister, Lucille Cord of Carnegie, PA, and by several step grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her infant children, William P. and Karen M. Portman, and by her brother, William Brennan, and her sister, Dolores Zimmer. Friends may call on Monday evening, August 31, 2015, from 6-8 PM at the MASON Funeral Home, 37 Clinton Street, Westfield, NY, and are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Tuesday morning, September 1, 2015 at 11 AM at St. Dominic RC Church, 15 Union Street, Westfield, NY with Fr. Mark Wolski , Fr. Joseph Walter and Fr. Daniel Fiebelkorn concelebrating. Burial will be in St. James Cemetery. Memorials may be made to St. Dominic RC Church, 15 Union St. or to the Patterson Library, 40 S. Portage St., both in Westfield, NY 14787. Log on to www.masonfuneral.com to send the Portman family a message of sympathy, to light a Memorial Candle or for further information.