It was 1859 when John O’Carolan and his beloved Elizabeth Cassidy left their homeland of Ireland behind and ventured to the golden shores of America. Like so many immigrants of that time, the couple changed their surname to Carlin, because they felt that it sounded less Irish and more American. Carlin was the name of a town near their home in Ireland. In 1872, the Carlins welcomed the birth of their son Francis.

Young Francis would eventually take Mary Early, who was also born in 1872, to be his blushing bride. Francis and Mary became the proud parents of a son whom they christened John Thomas.

On October 7, 1920, John Thomas Carlin joined his love Mabel Marie Ferguson in the sacrament of matrimony. The ceremony took place in Buffalo, New York. When Mabel had first met John, she is rumored to have remarked, “I’d like to go with the fellow with dark, curly hair!”

John was a baseball player, who traveled extensively with his team. Of course, Mabel joined him on his travels. In fact, all but the couple’s last two children were born away from their home in Detroit. During the off-seasons, John worked as a bus driver for the Detroit Streetcar & Railroad. He did factory work, too. With the hardships brought on by the Depression, John’s baseball team was dismantled.

Mabel Carlin worked as a Registered Nurse, until the birth of the couple’s children. Then, she stayed at home to be a fulltime mother. Mabel was a great cook, who frequently baked two cakes a day. One cake would be for her children’s lunch. Mabel would always shower and get dressed up before her husband came home from work each evening. She would often fall asleep next to her bed, having dozed off at the end of her nightly prayers.

John and Mabel were blessed with six wonderful children: Pat, Frank (Butch), Teresa, Mary Ann, Loretta, and John. Born during her father’s traveling years, Mary Ann Carlin entered this world at St. Francis Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.

Calvin Coolidge was in the last year of his presidency in 1928. Later that year, Herbert Hoover would be elected to assume the reigns of US government. Penicillin was discovered in 1928. It was also the year that the very first Academy Awards were presented, with Wings garnering the first Oscar for Best Picture. Walt Disney charmed the world with Galloping Gaucho and Steamboat Willie, the first cartoons with sound. The Roaring Twenties were quickly drawing to an end.

It was into this period that little Mary Ann would begin her journey through life on March 10, 1928. Mary Ann’s childhood would be played out against the backdrop of the Great Depression. As a youngster, Mary Ann was a real tomboy. She preferred being with the boys. She would make her own slingshots and go to the rooftop, where she would prey upon the unsuspecting people who walked by on the sidewalk. Later in life, she even began to teach her own grandchildren how to craft slingshots.

Mary Ann loved to tap dance in the family kitchen because the floor was better for dancing there. Even while dinner was being prepared, she would continue to dance.

Outgrowing her tomboy ways during her days at St. Agnes Catholic School, Mary Ann became a real young lady. Her sister Loretta recalls that Mary Ann was known to spend her money at the local drugstore, purchasing all the make-up that she could afford. Loretta said, “She would make herself up. She had an absolutely gorgeous figure, and she was ‘The Cat’s Meow’!”

It was through her brother Frank that Mary Ann met the man who would become the love of her life. Frank and Chuck Powell were very good buddies. Who knew that they would someday be family! It is not known for sure whether Chuck and Mary Ann had their first date at the local drug store or on the corner that had the reputation of being “the happening place.” All that really mattered was that romance blossomed between the two young lovers.

Unfortunately, World War II intervened. Mary Ann faithfully corresponded with Chuck throughout the War. After Chuck returned home, they could make plans for their future. On the day after Valentine’s Day, February 15, 1947, Chuck and Mary Ann were married at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Detroit. The newlyweds honeymooned for a few days in Canada.

The Powell’s’ marriage was blessed with seven lively, boisterous children. They boast that they did not live in a house; they had a home. The Powell home was bursting with love. It was literally open to everyone in the neighborhood. The doors were never locked. Mary Ann presided over an extended family and she loved them all, whether they were her own or her neighbor’s children. Life was hectic in the Powell household. Chuck would often query, “Who are these kids?” It didn’t matter, because there was always plenty of love to go around.

Mary Ann worked as a secretary in the medical field, as well as a hostess at one of the local restaurants. She retired from Botsford Hospital. However, long before her retirement, she handpicked the doctors who would care for her for the rest of her life. She had watched them grow from interns to residents to Internist and Cardiologist. Dr. Neil Belgiano and Dr. Steven Belen cared for Mary Ann until her last breath. Dr. Armen Korkigian was always close to her heart, too.

Vacations were an important component of Powell family life. The family always took a summer vacation somewhere. As the children grew up, the older children were sometimes left at home, while the younger ones accompanied their parents to various destinations. The McCulloughs, who lived across the street, often joined the Powells on their family trips.

If a vacation could incorporate a history lesson, Chuck Powell was all for it. One memorable trip encompassed Virginia, Gettysburg and the surrounding mountains. Chuck made sure that the children benefited from the “electric maps,” filled with information on Gettysburg. The children remember that, on their Washington, D. C. trip, their mother walked out into the heavy traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue to stop the traffic so that her family could cross the street! The family also traveled to Florida, arriving only one month before Disney opened the magical gates of his Disney World.

For most of the family, the prime vacation destination was Burroughs Farm in Brighton, Michigan. The “resort type” vacation spot was designed for the enjoyment of the employees of the Burroughs Corporation (now Unisys). There were cottages to rent, a baseball diamond, a lake with two slides, shuffleboard, and a dancehall. Best of all, the resort offered a “Penny Candy Store,” filled with Mary Janes (Mary Ann’s favorite), Slo Pokes, swizzle sticks and dots. To the kids, it was a store made in heaven. Burroughs Farms was a safe place for children to walk, roam and investigate. Vacations there included, not only the immediate family, but also many of their friends. In the days before seat belt laws, kids were squeezed together in cars for the long ride from Redford to Brighton. To this day, the very mention of Burroughs Farms elicits a host of wonderful memories.

Mary Ann was a marvelous mother and a truly amazing woman. She did everything: she worked outside the home, she cut the grass, she decorated her home, she hung wallpaper, she did the laundry, she paid the bills, and she packed lunches for her children to take to school. Sandy says that she can’t hear the sound of wax paper being torn without thinking of her Mom. In addition to all of these accomplishments, Mary Ann always found the time to drive her children all over town. It is suspected that she only allowed herself to sleep in the few “stolen” moments that she somehow managed to keep for herself.

Gardening was one of Mary Ann’s favorite pastimes. She loved to work in the dirt. She claimed that “the more dirt, the more fun!” She loved reading everything from newspapers to mystery books. Watching TV entertained her for hours. “Monk,” “24” and Fox News were on the top of her viewing list. She shied away from CNN, however. If her children missed a headline while they were at work, she would be their direct line to the news. If Mary Ann heard something on the new that would interest one of her children, she would be sure to make one of her famous “Random Calls.” She would always begin with “Turn on Channel 7, a story about…” or “Watch the news at 11, on Channel 4, they are covering a funeral story…” or even “Don’t travel the highway, a major rollover….” This would go on and on. She was still looking out for her family.

Blessed with enormous generosity, Mary Ann would give you the shirt off her back, or her very last dollar. She was never stingy with her love or her time. Her heart was the biggest in the world. Her children remember that she would eat potatoes and vegetables, leaving the meat for her family, so that there would be extra helpings for those who wanted them. After her family had grown and expanded, Mary Ann would often ask her daughters at family gatherings whether or not their spouses needed more food. They would each answer, “I don’t know, Ma. He’s right here; ask him.” She just wanted them to be more aware of their husband’s plates. The children learned many important lessons from her.

The Powell family never had the material things in life, but Mary Ann always saw to it that her family never went without their needs. She gave her children a big family. They had fun with one another. They were “rich” in family and in blessings. She saw to it that they grew up in a marvelous neighborhood, on Denby Street. To this day, they still have Denby reunions.

Although her family never figured out how she did it, Mary Ann always managed to get birthday and anniversary cards to their recipients exactly on the right day—not the day before or the day after the event. Her family wonders whether she had a special arrangement with the post office.

Even though Sandy often asked her to stop using the word, “Whatever!” was one of Mary Ann’s pet responses. During the last month of her final illness, she would repeatedly say, “I know” or “Go home!” She knew what she needed to do to get better and she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone, so she would send her family home. When asked what she wanted, she would reply, “To go home and just be normal!”

Her eleven grandchildren were definitely the greatest joy in Mary Ann’s rich and colorful life. In her eyes, they could do no wrong. She literally wallpapered her home with their pictures. Mary Ann never replaced a picture in an existing frame; she always purchased a new frame and added it to her ever-growing collection.

When a nurse asked her how she was feeling on the morning of her passing, Mary Ann responded wistfully, “I want one more dance.”

On Wednesday, October 3, 2007 at the age of 79, Mary Ann Powell accepted the Lord’s hand for one last dance. She had been the cherished wife of the late Charles Powell and the devoted mother of Terry (Wendy), Carol (Jim) Amish, Ted (Sharon), Lynne (Gary) Lefebvre, Marianne (Bill) Brooks, Sandy (Kevin) McCabe and Robert. Her grandchildren, Christy, Shane, Andrea, Brandon, Bradley, Ryan, Kyle, Stephen, Amanda, Zachery and Sean all dearly loved their “Nanny.” Mary Ann was the proud and loving great grandmother of Austin, Hannah, Emily, Dylan and Shane. Mary Ann’s dear sister Loretta Carlin survives to treasure her memory.

Family and friends may visit on Friday, October 5, from 2-9 PM at McCabe Funeral Home, 31950 W. 12 Mile Rd., Farmington Hills. The funeral liturgy will take place on Saturday from St. Fabian Catholic Church. Instate will be from 9:30 AM until the celebration of Mass at 10 AM. Charitable donations in Mary Ann’s memory may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. www.mccabefuneralhome.com