Mary Elizabeth (nee Jefferies) Sheridan born May 28, 1921 on the Irish Sea in Courtown Harbour, County Wexford, Ireland. She passed away on Christmas Eve, an occasion which will now become an additional cause for celebration. She was predeceased by her husband Matthew Joseph Sheridan (2000), her brothers John and Edward, her mother Anastasia Redmond and father Samuel Jefferies. Molly, as everyone called her, is survived by her three sons Matthew John (wife Lynda), Edward William (wife Maybeth), and Paul John (wife Vicki), and her daughter Catherine Ann Pringle (husband Gordon), as well as her Nephew Peter Jefferies (wife Mary) and Nephew Simon Jefferies. She is also survived by her grandchildren McKenzie Elizabeth Sheridan, Scott Pringle (wife Allison) and Daniel Pringle (wife Kathleen) and two great grandchildren Emerson and Timothy Pringle.

Molly met and married her husband during World War II. Their courtship was spent, at times, ducking into basements, subways and other spots to avoid the buzz bombs and in 1945 traveled on the Queen Elizabeth, converted to troop/hospital ship, zig zagging across the Atlantic dodging German submarines to the United States to await the end of the war and the return of her husband. Molly and Matt first lived in Mississippi and later in Atlantic City, Northfield and Absecon. After the passing of Matthew, Molly relocated to Berkeley Heights, NJ to live with her daughter Cathy and her husband Gordan.

Molly’s talents were appreciated in England where she had been a hairdresser, later a policewoman with the English CID and with the Red Cross. In the United States, she had been employed by the Atlantic Bell Telephone Company, as Northfield’s acting Postmaster, and finally as the Food Service manager for Holy Spirit High School from which she retired. Molly and Matt were avid boaters and spent long hours and sometimes days on their boat, the Mary E. Molly was a member of the Sandpipers, Women’s Auxiliary of the Absecon Island Power Squadron.

Molly dearly loved her children, grandchildren and delighted in every moment with her great grandchildren. She was an avid reader, fabulous cook (renowned for her Fruitcakes and other wonderful treats) and sports fan who regularly followed the Philadelphia Phillies and Philadelphia Flyers.

A highlight for Molly was a return to Ireland in 2008, her first journey back to Ireland in 70 years. A family reunion was held on her 87th birthday. During her visit, many relatives who had neither seen or known of each other came to attend. At one point during a dinner one side of the table was discussing an ancestor Anna and the other side another called Stacy. My mother, listened intently and declared they were speaking of the same person, her mother Anastasia. During this visit “home,” Molly’s birthday was celebrated with Mass in the chapel in which she had been baptized 87 years earlier.

Services will be held at Valley Memorial Funeral Home, 1012 Valley Home, Gillette, New Jersey 07933, from 2-4 PM and 7-9 PM, Friday December 29, 2017. On Saturday December 30, there will be a Mass of Christian Burial at Saint Vincent De Paul Church, Stirling, NJ. Following the Mass, she will be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Mays Landing, New Jersey. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Vincent de Paul RC Church.

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