SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — Mary Russo McCormick died in San Diego on May 6, 2012.

From 1973 to 1994, she was a resident of Franklin, where she lived with her husband, Robert H. McCormick. She loved Franklin, the greater Ellsworth community, and Maine. She contributed generously to the life of the community, particularly in the arts, and was a devoted volunteer at the Ellsworth library and on the boards of The Grand Auditorium of Hancock County and Kneisel Hall. She was well known for her Italian cooking, and invitations to dinner at Butlers Point were coveted. Mary was a clear-eyed realist and wrote her own obituary:

Mary did not have a courageous battle with anything and did not pass on, go to join anyone, or go to a better place. She died.

One of three or four persons who were actually born in Los Angeles, she attended grammar schools in Brawley and Redlands, high school in Alhambra and college in Seattle. She managed, by hard work and guile, to live in several great places: Seattle, Rome, Chicago, Franklin, and finally San Diego. Her great loves were her family, reading, music, and travel. She visited 39 countries and all seven continents and regretted the places she missed.

She had a checkered matrimonial career, but never made the same mistake twice. All three of her husbands, however, were distinguished persons in one way or another. And her last marriage lasted 25 years and ended with the death of her husband.

She is survived by six dear nieces and nephews, and six great-nieces and nephews; a sister; a brother and sister-in-law; and a raft of stepchildren and step-stepchildren. She was particularly close to two of them, Matt McCormick and Cathy Morrow and their children. She had a few dear friends who gave her great pleasure and enjoyed knowing her cousins, with whom she always tried to keep in touch.

A convinced atheist, she wanted a private and unceremonious cremation and she did not want a funeral.

She had a truly interesting life, and she enjoyed it, which is all anybody can hope for.