Mary Nardini, a chemist and real estate broker, died at her home in Eastham on May 18, 2025 of complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was 83.
Mary was born on Feb. 3, 1942 in Wallingford, Conn. to the late Joseph and Frances Coss. Her father was a projectionist at the Wallingford movie theater; her mother was a seamstress.
“My mom was a straight-A student from kindergarten to her last day of college,” said her daughter, Shelly. “She got one A-minus in her life.” Mary was valedictorian of her high-school class and earned a doctorate in chemistry from Saint Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y. It was there that she met Michael Nardini, who was getting his doctorate in dental surgery. The two married after Mary’s graduation in 1967.
The couple honeymooned in Buzzards Bay, which sparked their love of the Cape. With Michael’s cousin and his family, they often went boating in Wellfleet Harbor. “What she loved the most was the ocean,” said Shelly.
The two families bought land on Twine Field Road in Truro, where they built the house Mary and her family spent summers before moving to Orleans.
After getting her doctorate, Mary became the first female research chemist at the General Electric Research Laboratory in Schenectady, N.Y. In 1970, she left G.E. to help her husband open his dental office. She was the receptionist for seven years and did the accounting. In 1973, Mary and Michael adopted Michelina, known as Shelly. They lived above Michael’s office in Rotterdam, N.Y.
In 1987, Mary got her real estate license and worked at Realty USA and Coldwell Banker in Rotterdam until moving to the Cape in 2000.
“She had a wonderful sense of humor,” said her sister, Marcy. “Her sociability helped her sell houses. She had energy and spunk.”
On the Cape, Mary volunteered for the Red Hat Society, the Nauset Garden Club, the Auxiliary at Cape Cod Hospital, the Nauset Newcomers, and the St. Joan of Arc Church thrift store in Orleans.
She loved gardening, cooking, and entertaining. “She would start preparing a week in advance and would bake things like stuffed shrimp for 60 to 100 people,” said Shelly. Mary also coached basketball and cheerleading when Shelly was in high school.
“We were great fans of the Boston teams,” said Marcy, “so during football season I was at her house every Sunday to scream and yell.”
“She knew every single player on her team, the opposing team, and all of their stats and rankings,” said Shelly.
Mary’s granddaughter Ashley-Mary remembers the way her grandmother would pull out all the stops for Christmas celebrations. “Her house would be decorated top to bottom, and she would do all of the cooking Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,” she said. “She was Polish and loved Bobby Vinton, so every year she’d sing and dance around the Christmas tree with us to ‘Santa Must Be Polish.’ I could feel the love she had for us.”
Mary is survived by her sister, Marcella McLaughlin of Orleans; her daughter, Michelina Nardini of Yarmouth; her grandchildren, Ashley-Mary Guinen and husband Chris Guinen of Eastham, Cameron Oleniczak of Yarmouth, and Ciara Taylor of Yarmouth; her great-grandsons, Jordan Hindle of Harwich and Matthew Nardini-Fountaine and Kasen Burt of Yarmouth; and many friends and extended family. She was predeceased by her husband, Dr. Michael Nardini, and her brother-in-law, Hugh McLaughlin.
A celebration of life was held on May 27 and a funeral service at St. Joan of Arc in Orleans was on May 28. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary’s memory may be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation.
