Mary Ellen Colgan, 'woman for all seasons,' dies at 84

MARY ELLEN COLGAN wasn't about to let approaching blindness slow her down.

A dynamic woman who never stopped learning or seeking out new experiences, Mary fought macular degeneration with the determination and grit that defined her entire life.

Taking a creative-writing course and tackling James Joyce's difficult novel Ulysses, she overcame the fact that she could no longer read by listening to the book on tape.

As her eyesight diminished, she got larger and larger computer screens. And a month before she died, she took up the martial art tai chi.

It seemed that nothing could hold Mary down, despite an early life that was not always pleasant. Her father died when she was a child, and her mother had to work three jobs during the Depression to keep the family going.

It took Mary 30 years to earn a college degree, attained through sheer determination, and she became an executive with a large insurance company and demanded the same salary as men in the same job.

Mary Ellen Colgan, who was devoted to women's rights and liberal Democratic causes, and a practicing Catholic who reluctantly gave up being an inspirational lector when her eyesight failed, died Monday. She was 84 and lived in Haverford.

"She was kind, understanding, innovative and always trying to learn something new," said her son Brian E. Colgan. "She was an excellent writer and liked to write about her early life, like watching her father make whiskey in a bathtub during Prohibition."

After she was diagnosed with macular degeneration, Mary would talk with fellow sufferers and offer help and encouragement. There was little doubt that she served as an inspiration to others, showing by example what could be accomplished despite the condition.

Trying to get Flavia Colgan to stop talking about her grandmother would be like trying to turn a tide. Her grandmother was her guide, her inspiration, her confidant.

"She was the most extraordinary woman I ever met in my life," said Flavia, political commentator, writer, producer and former columnist and member of the Daily News editorial board.

"She could take something good and make it greater," she said. "She could take something unique and make it extraordinary. There will never be another Mary Colgan."

Flavia and her grandmother talked by phone every day, sometimes for hours. "She inspired me every day," she said. "I think of her as a 'woman for all seasons.' She did it her way."

She said her grandmother had been an inspiration to her in her many projects, including her latest, a documentary on workplace safety called "The Cost of Construction."

Mary's father, Patrick McDonnell, an Irish immigrant, died of lead poisoning while working in a battery factory.

Flavia considered her grandmother a "quintessential Philadelphian."

"She was an underdog fighter, a hustler, a grinder and gutsy. She was Philadelphia.

"If I were stuck on a deserted island, I would want her to be there. Having her there would be enough."

"I was very blessed to be Mary's son," said Kevin C. Colgan. "I never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, and I certainly tried her patience many times over the years.

"I never met another human being like her. If I could be half the person she was, I would consider my life a huge success. She was always the one I consulted for advice in all areas of my life, as did many other people."

Mary was born in North Philadelphia to Patrick McDonnell and the former Nora Roddy, both Irish immigrants. She graduated from the John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School in 1943 as class valedictorian.

She received a full academic scholarship to Chestnut Hill College, but was unable to attend for financial reasons. But over the years, she took classes and finally graduated summa cum laude in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in social studies from St. Joseph's University.

In 1949, she married Charles P. Colgan, a champion rower who competed in regattas all over the world and coached rowing and refereed events. He died in 1999.

Mary worked in group-benefits departments, first for Mutual of Omaha, and later for Fidelity Mutual, where she became the first female vice president.

"She kept hammering away - 'I did this,' 'I did more than him' - until she got a salary comparable to the male officers," Brian said.

She was a lector for many years at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Roxborough, and later at St. Denis Parish in Havertown.

She is also survived by another son, Sean P. Colgan, and nine other grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass 11 a.m. Monday at St. Denis Church, Lawrence Road, Havertown. Friends may call at 9:30 a.m. at the John Stretch Funeral Home, Eagle and St. Denis roads, Havertown. Burial will be in Ss. Peter & Paul Cemetery, Marple.

Donations may be made to the Mary McDonnell Colgan Scholarship Fund, John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, 311 N. 19th St., Philadelphia 19103- 1198.