Obituary of Mary (Henry) Roderick

RODERICK, MARY ELLEN (HENRY) (Age 89) Silver Spring, MD-- Mary Ellen (Henry) Roderick, 89, beloved wife of the late John Douglas. Roderick of Revere, died peacefully at her home in Silver Spring, MD, surrounded by her family, on Thursday, March 9, 2006, after a nine year battle with Alzheimer's. Born in Peabody, she was the daughter of Irish immigrants, Thomas and Rosanna Henry of 8 Mt. Vernon St., Peabody. She graduated from Peabody High School in 1933. In 1937, she graduated from Salem Teachers College with a bachelor’ s degree in secondary business education. She worked for the Superintendent of the Peabody School System during the 1940’ s. She married John Douglas Roderick of Revere, MA in 1941 at St. John’ s Church in Peabody. Mrs. Roderick moved with her family to the Washington, DC area in 1950 because her husband was called back into the Navy at the start of the Korean War. She joined the Montgomery County School System in 1954 as a 6th grade teacher at Montgomery Knolls Elementary in Silver Spring. After three years, she was appointed as one of two Handwriting Specialists who taught handwriting in schools across the county. She received a master’ s degree in educational administration and curriculum in 1960 from George Washington University. In 1960, Mrs. Roderick was appointed as the first principal of the newly built Whittier Woods Elementary in Bethesda, MD. In 1964, she was appointed as the first principal of another new school, Burnt Mills Elementary in Silver Spring, MD. In 1966, Mrs. Roderick was selected as one of two Assistant Directors in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction where she provided leadership to the secondary instructional supervisors and managed the development of the curriculum for all high school courses of instruction. She retired from the school system in 1977. Along with her husband, they retired to Sarasota, FL where they became residents. John Douglas Roderick, her husband of 51 years, died in 1993. She was a member of St. John’ s Catholic Church, Peabody, MA, Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church, Takoma Park, MD, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Silver Spring, MD, and St. Martha’ s Catholic Church, Sarasota, FL. She was a member of two honorary organizations for women educators, Alpha Delta Kappa and Delta Kappa Gamma She will be dearly missed by her family, including; two daughters and a son, Ellen M. Roderick of Silver Spring, MD, John F. Roderick of Tampa, FL, and Joan Roderick Carlberg of Darnestown, MD; mother-in-law of James Carlberg and grandmother of David J. and Matthew A. Carlberg, all of Darnestown, MD; sister of the late Joseph Henry of Peabody and Thomas Henry of Salem, aunt of Joe, David, Brian, Tommy, Michael, Patty, and Barbara Henry; Patricia Falbo and Michele Lawler; and Kenneth, Janice, Paul, and Mark Forte. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to a visitation on Tuesday March 14 from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 20 Church St. location, Peabody, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 AM in St. John’ s Catholic Church (adjacent to the funeral home). Interment in St. Mary’ s Cemetery, Salem. Memorial contributions may be made to the Scholarship Fund of MD Beta Alpha Delta Kappa, 16617 Cashell Rd., Rockville, MD 20853; Alpha Delta Kappa Foundation (for altruistic initiatives and scholarships), 1615 W. 92nd St., Kansas City, MO 64114; or the MD Regional Office of the Alzheimer's Association, 1738 Elton Rd., Suite 302, Silver Spring, MD 20903.