Mary F. (Dudley) Scalisi

Mary F. (Dudley) Scalisi, Waltham, died Sunday, October 8, 2023, at home surrounded by family. She was 87.

Mary was born in Somerville on April 3, 1936, a daughter of the late Timothy and Mary “Molly“ (Dunn) Dudley. Raised and educated in Somerville, she was a graduate of Matignon High School. On May 14, 1960, in Saint Benedict's Church in Somerville she married the love of her life, Waltham native, Vincent D. Scalisi. Together they built a lifelong home in Waltham and shared 51 beautiful years of marriage before Vin’s passing in 2011.

A classically trained secretary by profession, Mary employed her invaluable skills to support the family business, Vin's Tire Service on Russell Street, owned and operated by her beloved husband for more than three decades. While raising their daughter and two sons, she seamlessly balanced her roles as a devoted mother and an indispensable asset to the business. As her children reached high school age, she stepped back into full-time work.

Mary possessed remarkable secretarial expertise; adept at recording meetings with shorthand precision and typing at an astonishing rate of one-hundred-and-ten words per minute. Her commitment, diligence, and professionalism earned her a long and prosperous career as an Executive Secretary at Raytheon in Waltham until her retirement at the age of seventy.

However accomplished she was in her professional pursuits, it was Mary's unwavering dedication to her husband and family that truly defined her life. Mary and Vin's love story began when they first met while roller-skating at the WAL-LEX and continued throughout their lives. The depth of their affection and commitment was evident to all who witnessed them together, particularly when their song, "Proud Mary," was playing. They embraced every shared experience, from running their business during their early years to nurturing a beautiful garden later in life; Vin cultivated vegetables while Mary's green thumb provided brilliant displays of flowers to beautify their home. Remarkably, they even shared best friends; Mary's sister Barbara married Vin's dear friend Anthony Scichilone, and the two couples were inseparable. Their most cherished pastime involved creating countless happy memories together at Bourne Scenic Park by the canal during family vacations on Cape Cod in their RV. However, it really didn’t matter where they were, as long as they were together.

Mary is now reunited in heaven with her beloved husband Vincent D. Scalisi and their daughter Mary Ann Scalisi.

Mary leaves her children, Vincent A. Scalisi and his wife, Michele Driscoll, and Timothy D. Scalisi and his wife, Susan, both of Waltham; her sister Barbara Scichilone (late Anthoney), of Waltham; her grandchildren, Pauline Arsenault, Timothy Scalisi, Emma Scalisi and Thomas Scalisi and several nieces & nephews.

Family and friends will honor and remember Mary's by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Monday, October 16th from 4 to 7 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning before leaving in procession to Sacred Heart Church, 311 River Street, Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Burial will be held privately at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Mary kindly requested that you honor her memory by planting a flower in your own home—a symbol of life and beauty that will forever remind us of her.