Mary Williams,88,passed away peacefully at her home in Fair Haven surrounded by family and friends. She is the daughter of Francelia and Joseph Cammarata. She was born on December 19,1929 in Manhattan, NY and grew up on Christopher Street. At 3 years old Mary was baptized, that day she also had the chicken pox. During summers, Mary, her sister Josie and her mother went to Parish, NY for the summers where she enjoyed time with her cousin Bunnie. Mary had very good grades in school as her mom was a teacher and made her practice her studies for hours, her father owned a bar. Mary met her first husband Jerome (Jerry) Paige at a bank in NYC where she worked. They lived in Greenwich Village on Bank Street for around 25 years with their 3 children - John, Elizabeth (Liz) & Judson. Mary and her lifelong friend Hilda Marrota rented a space in a church in NYC where they ran a nursery school for many years. They had many laughs, adventures and still continue to do so today. During summers, Mary continued the tradition of going to Parish with her own kids where all the cousins enjoyed being with each other. Mary, Jerry and kids also found their way to Fair Haven for 2 weeks during one summer. There they fell in love with Fair Haven so they bought a camp where Mary would have her children, nieces / nephews and their friends over to go the beach by day and hang out together by night. The story was that in order to live there you must be coo-coo which gave them the name for their camp, Coo-Coo Castle. Mary started spending weekends in Fair Haven and learned about the availability of Little Sodus Inn. At first, Mary leased the bar with the help of her daughter Liz. Mary's relationship with her 1st husband deteriorated due to the long distance relationship and they were at different stages in their lives. They still cared for one another and continued to do so the rest of their lives.

Mary and Liz decided to go into business together and bought The Little Sodus Inn in 1973. Being women and running a bar they endured battles with the village and had to engage in many legal battles for their right to be here and to be open. They ultimately went to court and won! During her time at the bar, Mary met her 2nd love of her life William Williams which she was with for over 30 years, he passed away in 2009. He always looked at her adoringly and would do anything she asked. Through the years, Mary & Liz spent most of their time together, mostly at the bar with their patrons, their other family. This bar family shared with her their life, problems and love. Many times you would see her sitting at the end of the bar on her stool.

Over the years, she sponsored softball, broomball and dart teams. She befriended people of all age groups. She always wanted everyone to get along and be merry. Mary loves singing and dancing to her favorite songs, "NY, NY" and "Those Were The Days." She loved watching her grandkids jumping on the trampoline, taking them to the beach, having them over for sleepovers and was excited for them when they caught frogs and fish. As an outsider, you would never know whether somebody was family or a friend as she treats everyone lovingly. Mary has overcome 3 cancers during her lifetime and joined her husband on Wednesday, June 27th.
Calling hours will be Sunday, July 01, at the Becker-Keysor Funeral Home from 1:00-4:00 , a funeral service will take place Monday, July 02, at the Sterling Valley Community Church, burial will follow at Springbrook Cemetery. www.catoredcreek.com