Flanagan, 59, killed in East Tremont Ave. car accident
Flanagan, who was beloved in the Throggs Neck community, passed away at age 59.
Photo Photo courtesy of Schuyler Hill Funeral Home
BY STEVEN GOODSTEIN
A Throggs Neck woman was killed
late last month by a vehicular accident
on East Tremont Avenue.
On the evening of Monday, February
24, at approximately 7:08 p.m.,
Mary Flanagan was struck by a sedan
while she was crossing eastbound at
the Sampson Avenue and East Tremont
Avenue intersection.
She was discovered by EMS, both
unconscious and unresponsive, with
trauma to the head, before she was
transported to NYC Health + Hospitals/
Jacobi, where she was later pronounced
deceased.
Further investigation conducted by
the NYPD Highway District’s Collision
revealed that a 2009 Mazda 3 traveling
southbound on East Tremont Avenue
hit her. The operator of the vehicle remained
at the scene.
Flanagan was born on October 13,
1960 and attended Preston High School
in the mid to late 1970s. She lived at
2917 Milton Avenue.
“She was a very kind, good hearted
person who always helped others,” said
Diane Dougherty, a former Throggs
Neck resident and member of St. Benedict’s
Church who knew Flanagan for
the better part of 25 years.
Flanagan was a long-tenured parishioner
at St. Benedict’s Church. According
to Dougherty, who often congregated
with other church members
and residents outside the church after
service.
Mary was also an animal rights
activist who worked with pet shelters
and was involved in the Humane Society
located on East 59th Street.
“Her loss is very sad – especially
considering that she was so dedicated
to helping the community,” said cofounder
of the Bronx Animal Shelter
Endeavor Donna Dechiaro, who didn’t
know Mary personally but knew of her
work and heard about the tragedy.
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“It’s a big loss and (our) hearts go
out to Mary’s family and friends,” Dechiaro
added. “It was obvious that she
did good work and was very appreciated
in the community.” She also
worked at JCPenney at the Mall at Bay
Plaza in Baychester.
“She was most certainly the churchgoing
type – and it’s such a shame that
such a kind individual could go in such
a tragic way,” Dougherty added.
Preston High School is currently
planning a plaque or monument to
commemorate Flanagan’s life and devotion
to the community.
Others who knew Mary described
her as a ‘sweet soul’ who had a ‘beautiful
smile’ and ‘gentle ways’ about her.
“Mary was a sweet, wonderful,
gentle woman who cared about others
and was very faithful to us here,” said
Father Stephen Norton from St. Benedict’s
Church, who knew Mary for over
30 years. “You don’t meet people like
Mary very often – she was just a loving,
kind-hearted individual. I don’t
remember her ever swearing or even
yelling at anyone.”
Father Norton recalled a time when
Flanagan had planted fl owers in her
yard, but had extra fl owers. She had
asked Norton if she could plant the remaining
fl owers outside of St. Benedict’s,
to which he said, “of course!”
Flanagan also participated in the
church’s Secret Santa each year along
with other holiday traditions.
Mary never married, but is survived
by her sister Elizabeth who lives
in upstate New York.
Elizabeth set up the funeral Mass
for Flanagan, which was attended
by a few hundred people. It was held
on Monday, March 2 at St. Benedict’s
Church, after visitation services at
Schuyler Hill Funeral Home.
Flanagan was interred at Gate of
Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY,
with her parents.
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