Mary Rose Van Bomel Du Ren entered into perpetual rest on October 2, 2015, one day shy of her 67th birthday, after a valiant, protracted struggle with a formidable foe. Though she certainly is gone too soon, Mary stayed with her beloved family longer than the pundits predicted would be the case.
Mary Rose was born on October 3, 1948, in the Bronx, to Edward Van Bomel & Rosemary (nee Kelly) Van Bomel. She probably wanted nothing so much as an infant than to be swaddled and cuddled, to be the center of her parents’ universe and to remain in diapers for a couple of years. So, of course, Eddie came along 13 months and one week later. Legend has it that her mother had Mary out of diapers and completely trained by the time the new bundle of joy was delivered. So much for the lap of luxury; although she did have a break of four (4) years before the Irish Triplets arrived, when she was appointed to be chief cook and bottle washer’s helper (and then another 5 year break before she became Veronica’s nanny).
Mary began her education at St. Luke’s School on E. 139th St., where she stayed through 5th grade. When the family moved to the brand-new Castle Hill Projects in 1959, she transferred to and graduated in 1962 from Holy Family School on Castle Hill Avenue. She then attended Mother Butler Memorial High School (Class of ’66), where she was a two–year starter on and a co-captain of the basketball team. Until the end, Mary had monthly dinners with the girls from that MBMHS basketball team – 50+ years later. Mary also played on the CYO basketball team at St. John Vianney School in Castle Hill. She often regaled her brothers with stories of her exploits in the land of three-dribbles-and-pass. She went to her high school prom on the arm of the guy she really, really, really wanted to ask her (Billy Walsh of Castle Hill) and generally started getting used to getting what she wanted.
After graduating from MBM, Mary wanted a really good-paying job and so she did her time and honed her skills at the Grace Business Institute, whence she landed her first (and last) job at the Wall St. house Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner & Smith. She also wanted a really nice car and that first paycheck enabled to her to buy a brand new ’67 Chevy Camaro in the inaugural year of that famous model. She parlayed that first secretarial job at the Merrill branch office on Lexington Ave. at 51st Street, working with Bill O’Connor’s crack team, into a 30+ year career, retiring as an Administrative Manager. To the everlasting joy of her father, brothers and nephews, she had several stints at Merrill during which she was both the gatekeeper and the key-master for the stockpile of A+ sporting-event tickets that the Wall Street masters of the universe enjoyed access to in the 70’s, 80’ & 90’s. Great seats, Aunt Mary!! Thanks.
Mary was on a roll and was a power player in the New York business world of the late 20th Century, with all the trappings - fancy dinners, off-site outings, daily town car commutes at odd hours and the use of the corporate apartment (to which her mother once tracked her down in the middle of the night when she didn’t call home). She dated a legion of guys and received (and refused) more than a few marriage proposals, and her friends and family just assumed she’d be one of those fabulously successful businesswomen who had everything they wanted but “never married.”
But then Mary announced in 1995 that she was engaged to marry Bill DuRen, the eldest son of her mother Rosemary’s very good friend, Peggy Driscoll. Rosemary and Peggy were earlier, prototypical power women, married, raising families with multiple children and working for Citibank on overnight managerial shifts, which they both turned into careers from which they retired as officers of the Bank.
Mary and Billy had a fabulously beautiful wedding at the famed and newly-renovated Glen Island Casino, made a home together and filled the spaces in each other’s lives and he became the beloved “Uncle Cellophane” (“you kids can see right through me”) to the legion (14) of Mary’s nieces and nephews (on whom she doted and spent a considerable portion of her assets for birthday, Christmas, communion, confirmation and myriad other gifts for special occasions).
Mary was a combination of a renaissance woman and a jack-of-all-trades – travelling, dancing backward in heels, limited to 3 dribbles, having to take steno and type at 150 wpm (which came in handy for other peoples’ college and law school term papers and legal briefs) – Mary did it all in her own style, despite the limits and defying the expectations.
She was a dutiful daughter to Eddie and Rosemary, travelling with them, spending time with them, and being her father’s right hand (as Recording Secretary for over 40 years now) during his 30+ year tenure as President of the Redwood Club.
She was a wonderful wife to Billy, and nursed him faithfully through a long illness to which he eventually succumbed.
She was a stellar sister to her five (5) siblings – as a roommate and confidante to Veronica (Gullo); as a partner in crime at an early age with her Irish twin, Eddie; as a personal chauffeur to John, Robert and Donald as teens (and later, in post-retirement, as John’s administrative legal assistant); and as mater familias to the entire clan after Mom and Dad left the building – and she always was a fierce advocate for each, no matter what the circumstance.
Likewise, she was like a natural sister and a constant ally to her sisters-in-law (and sister-in-law-to-be), Carol, Cathy, Jannine and Jeanne; and a steadfast and reliable presence for her brother-in-law, Anthony Gullo.
The nieces and nephews – Lauren, Jenny, Tommy, Donald Jr., Danny, Christopher, Anthony, Jr., Katie, Michael, E.J., Nicholas, Robert, Jr., Kelly and Alexa; and the grandnieces/nephews – Victoria, Hayley, Aiden & Anna – were her pride and joy and they loved her immensely. At the party celebrating her 65th birthday, the kids sang a song composed by Aunt Cathy, to the tune of the ‘Ghostbusters’ theme song, in which they crooned a number of verses about all the wonderful things Mary had done for them, and all the times she rescued them from trouble, topped off by the refrain “Who ya gonna call? AUNT MARY!”.
That begs the question now, doesn’t it – Who ya gonna call when ya can’t call Aunt Mary?

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