ROCKLAND – Mary Ann Carey, 84, long time local dance instructor, died peacefully Saturday, March 2, 2013, at Woodlands Memory Care Center, Rockland. Born Oct. 2, 1928, in Waterville, she was the daughter of Dr. Raphael and Christine Poulin.
As a child Mary Ann was taught to dance the routines that her mother learned watching the movie musicals. She performed in many variety shows and talent contests around the state and was known as “The Little Shirley Temple of Waterville”. She attended St. Francis of Assisi Parochial School and Mount Merici Academy before transferring to Waterville High School, graduating in 1945. In 1947 Mary Ann married E. Richard Carey. They moved several times during the early years of marriage as Dick was transferred to Illinois, Kansas and Louisiana as a result of his employment. It was at this time that she began work as a dance instructor. Upon returning to Maine, the family lived in South Portland, Waterville, Thomaston and finally settling in Rockland. Mary Ann used her training as a dance instructor to open Mary Ann Carey Dance Studio in 1958, which she operated through five decades. She and her husband were performers in many productions by Camden Theater Guild. They were both charter members of Downeast Jazz Society. Mary Ann and Winola Cooper were instrumental in reviving Rockland High School Kippy Karnival Variety Show in the 1960s. For many years she was a consultant and judge for Lobster Festival Sea Goddess Pageants. Mary Ann and Dick traveled extensively throughout their time together. After Dick’s retirement from banking, they bought Travel, Inc., a travel agency Mary Ann had been working with. They continued their travels until Dick’s passing in 1989.
She was predeceased by her parents, husband, granddaughter, Leslie Carey; beloved aunt, Eleanor Poulin; and her stepfather, Edward Bonenfant. Mary Ann is survived by her children; Tim Carey and his wife, Della, of Rockland and Marty Carey of California; her grandchildren, Lindsey Carr and her husband, Casey, of Washington, Maine, Matt Carey of California and Heidi Cushman of Marco Island, Fla.; her great-grandchildren, Hannah and Hailey Carr, Joshua Haskell, Christopher and Ben Pollis; a sister, Margaret “Betty” Lamond and her husband, Bill, of Guilford, Conn.; sister-in-law, Arlene Brown of Battleground, Wash.; as well as several nieces and nephews. The family would like to express their deepest appreciation to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice and to the staff, past and present of Woodlands Memory Care facility, Rockland, for their compassionate and professional care they provided our loved one.
Services in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, Rockland, will be announced in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Autism Society of Maine, 72B Main St., Winthrop, ME 04364. To share a memory or story with Mary Ann’s family, please visit her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.
Mary Ann Carey
