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Mary Corr Obituary, Death – Mary Catherine Schmidt Corr, also known as Mary Cay, passed away on November 20, 2021 at the UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill at the age of 84. She was surrounded by her family at the time of her passing. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Mary Cay earned her Master of Education degree in Instructional Design. The Durham City Schools were her classroom for teaching television production. Mary Cay spent the majority of her career producing educational programs for students in grades K-12 for UNC-TV. Some of these programs, such as the series High School Assembly, won awards. Following her retirement, Mary Cay devoted her time working as a health consultant for AARP and as a docent at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
Mary Cay has always had a strong sense of civic responsibility, and she has served on the boards of directors of various non-profit organizations, including the Durham Literacy Council, the Club Nova Clubhouse for Mental Illness, the OPC Mental Health Foundation, and the Chapel Hill PTA Thrift Shop. Additionally, she was a devout member of the Holy Infant Church in Durham, where she served as a lector for a considerable amount of time.
Mary Cay was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1937, and it is also where she spent her childhood. She received her degree in history from Marymount Manhattan College and afterwards began teaching in New York City. In 1959, she tied the knot with Dr. Francis (Frank) Patrick Corr, who was employed by IBM as an electrical engineer. Two of Mary Cay and Frank’s five children were born in Nice, which is located in France, where she and Frank lived. Before arriving to Chapel Hill in 1976, they had previously made their home in Maryland as well as Zurich, Switzerland.
Mary Cay was a fearless adventurer who traveled all over the world. She delighted in regaling her numerous friends and coworkers with exciting anecdotes from her travels. Her buoyancy, self-assurance, and endearing charisma attracted a large number of close and lifelong friends who came to think of her as an extended family member.
Mary Cay’s devoted husband of more than 35 years and her brother John Schmidt both passed away before her. She is survived by her son Francis P. Corr, Jr. of Chapel Hill; daughters Dr. Maripat Corr (Jeff Arnold) of San Diego, California, Colette Corr (Chris Gale) of Greensboro, Suzanne Corr (Robert Brueckner) of Durham and Andree Corr (Steve Rickenbacher) of South Windsor, Connecticut; cherished grandchildren Daniel Arnold of Santa Barbara, California, Ryan Rickenbacher of Boston, Massachusetts, Adrienne Corr of A private Christian burial service, known as a Mass of Christian Burial, will be held for the Holy Infant Church family. Memorial donations may be directed to Club Nova, P.O. Box 1346, Carrboro, NC 27510.
