Marie Calabretta

Mom's Story Born July 2nd 1934, Marie was a lifelong resident of the East Side of Buffalo. As a child, she was most happy when she was able to comb the beaches of Woodlawn and Hoover with family and friends. As an adult, she fell in love with Nicholas. They were married on New Years' Eve 1956. Fifty years ago this past December they enjoyed their wedding reception at the original Salvatore's family restaurant on East Delavan Avenue. A daughter of Norman and Isabelle (Bantle) Muehlbauer, she was the elder sister of Audrey (Robert) Luksch. Marie was a devoted and beloved mother of 5 children, Maria (Timothy) Zwack, Nicholas (Lisa), Mark (Mary), Tammy (Timothy) Lyman, John (Karrie), beloved grandmother of Brian, Julee, Justyna, Michael, Dylan, Corinne, Kassidy, and the great-grandmother of Alyssa and Grace. While her children were growing up, Marie often became an elected and re-elected officer of the St. Lawrence Mothers' Club. She was instrumental in helping to coordinate many activities and fundraisers over the years. She received and deserved the coveted "Mother of the Year" award- not once but twice. She worked at Bishop Turner High School as a cafeteria worker until the school closed in 1984. For several years Marie worked at St. Lawrence Church where she was a full-time Pastor's assistant. She performed such duties as cooking for the parish priests and their guests, doing their laundry, cleaning the rectory and her favorite activity- food shopping with Gino. She loved this job and was very proud to work there. She had several close friends who were devoted to working for St. Lawrence, both paid and volunteer, in promoting the social as well as spiritual aspects of parishioner life. Marie was the inaugural director of a successful St. Lawrence Sunday night Bingo. She held this position for several years. Throughout the years, Marie and other devoted parishioners worked very hard to coordinate several fun-filled evenings such as the infamous "Italian Night" and "German Night". For these efforts and more, Marie was a recipient of the distinguished St. Joseph the Worker award in 1981. Her proud family attended the award ceremony at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Buffalo. In 1974, Marie trained to become one of the original Crisis Services "on-call advocate" volunteer team members. She counseled victims of rape and sexual assault at what was then known as E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital (now ECMC). After recently receiving her drivers' license, her oldest daughter remembers being awakened in the middle of the night to drive her mother to Meyer Memorial to help those in crisis. When she found some free time, Marie loved her backyard. She tended to several rose bushes of every color. No matter what else was going on in her life, Marie always had a fragrant rosebud in bloom or two in a vase on her kitchen table. In 1972, Marie was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Most thankfully, great strides have been made in the treatment of Crohn's and other diseases of the digestive system. During these 35 years, Marie had undergone numerous life-saving, reconstructive surgeries that enabled her to live a full life. She inspired those who knew her greatly. To all who knew and loved her, Marie demonstrated a level of endurance that would test the very limit of the human body and spirit. She greatly respected and loved all of her doctors, several of whom have pre-deceased- most recently, Dr. Harvey Goldstein. She often spoke of these physicians fondly and often as if they were family. Clearly, throughout 35 years of chronic illness, Marie's faith sustained her. Propelled her. Anointed her. Always she was inspired by the lives of the saints and the presence of angels as evidenced throughout her home. She held a deep devotion to all that was spiritual and Catholic although she held those beliefs as very private and reverential. Most recently, Marie succumbed to the final stages of cardio-pulmonary disease (COPD) due to smoking cigarettes since she was a teenager. Occasionally, she would make an attempt to quit, but was always drawn back to the addictive power of nicotine. On the day before she died, one of Marie's last requests was asking for a cigarette. In the name of all that is healthful and in her true style of grace and always with dignity, we ask that your generosity be directed to organizations that were important to Marie: Meals on Wheels, Hospice Buffalo, St. Lawrence Parish, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Western New York, Paralyzed Veterans Association or an American Veterans program of your choice. PDF Printable Version

Marie Calabretta

July 2, 1934 - November 9, 2007