Family and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Mass of Mary Therese Lenihan Otero on Friday, February 19th at 2:00 pm at All Saints Catholic Church, 2443 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody, Georgia 30338. Mary passed away peacefully at the Heritage Hospice in Marietta on January 30th, 2021.
Mary was born on October 3rd, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois to John and Ann Lenihan. She graduated from Saint Cajetan Elementary School in 1951 and the Academy of Our Lady High School in 1955. Mary majored in History at Mundelein College and graduated in 1959. She later taught at Saint Gerald’s parish in Oak Lawn Illinois.
Self-described as an unrepentant pack rat, Mary immensely enjoyed collecting theme plates, figurines and VHS tapes. She always had a flair for cooking and never liked following strict measurements. When asked for a recipe, she usually responded, “use dash of this-and-that and add ingredients to your taste.” Many of her regular family dishes remain celebrated favorites if not impossible to duplicate.
Always eager for new adventures and experiences, she loved to travel and made her first legendary trip with some college friends to Cuba in 1959 just to see “Castro’s Freedom Fighters.” Her very last memorable trip was a visit to Rome and the Vatican in 2016 at the tender age of 79.
As an accomplished bibliophile, Mary had a passion for reading and trivia. She had an amazing gift for remembering names, dates and the lyrics to her favorite songs and old musicals. Mary was also the quintessential dog lover, and she readily spoiled the many pets who adored her.
For the past several years, Mary and Ron loved to attend daily mass at Saint Lawrence Church followed by their obligatory visit to her favorite Starbucks. The baristas all knew her by name and always had her drink “free of charge” waiting for her when she arrived.
Mary was married for 56 years and is survived by her loving husband Ronald Lee Otero. She was also blessed with her five children, Patrick Otero (Kelly) of Houston, Mary Otero Smith (Paul) of San Francisco, Ronald Otero of Milton, Michael Otero (Kitty) of Mexico City, Mexico, and Thomas Otero (Jennifer) of Marietta. She especially treasured her role as “Nana” to her ten grandchildren, Zachary (Ellie), Daniel, Madeleine, Jack, Emily, Alexis, Brady, Buddy, Katie and Anna. She also leaves behind her best friend and only sister Joanne (Larry) Podgorski, three nieces, Marianne (Bill) Kinczewski, Jennifer (Bob) Bennett and Julie (Kenny) Henricks and many other friends who will sadly miss her.
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