Obit: Mary Frankola, nearly lifelong Bay Ridge resident, remembered

Mary L. Frankola was born Maria Luisa Mendez on March 29,1924 in NYC to Otilia (Jove) and Luis Mendez from Spain. She was the eldest of five sisters: Pat, Alice, Adele and Carol. Mary spent her childhood in the Upper East Side, with afternoons at the 96th Street Public Library and Central Park, and weekends at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

These early experiences formed a lifelong appreciation for literature, culture and the arts. As a teenager, Mary met Edward Frankola (1920-2004) at an ice-cream parlor in Brooklyn.

Married in 1946, they resided in Bay Ridge for nearly seven decades. Eddie served in the U.S. Army and later worked for the Department of Defense, based at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and downtown Manhattan. Mary worked as a bookkeeper at Grace Line and later at Overton & Co., while also raising a family.

Their 58-year marriage was filled with love, laughter, music, travel and dancing. There were likely few clubs Mary and Eddie didn’t visit in the 1940s, or Broadway shows they didn’t see in the 1950s. Mary’s love of music and reading was lifelong.  

Mary will always be remembered for her deep devotion to family and those she loved. She was a loving mother to Lorraine, Edward, Marilyn; grandmother to Darragh, Paul, Elle, Caroline, Jack; great-grandmother to Colette, Camille, Otilia, Maggie; and aunt to many nieces and nephews.

Mass will be held on March 26th at St. Anselm Church (9:45 am).

She will be laid to rest at Green-Wood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.