Mary C. Boring, active volunteer

Mary Catherine Bernard Boring, an active volunteer for three decades in Ridgefield, died on Sunday, Jan. 14. She was a longtime resident of Ridgefield, having built a home in Twixt Hills more than 30 years ago.
Mrs. Boring was born in Hopkinton, Mass., and graduated from Framingham State Teachers College.
A lifelong athlete, she was captain of her high school and college basketball and field hockey teams. She was nominated for the Hopkinton High School Women’s Hall of Fame and was part of a sports documentary made by it. She avidly followed many sports and knew statististics for many major players.
Mrs. Boring taught fifth and sixth grade for two years and then was selected to be among the first class of graduating stewardesses for United Airlines after World War II. She was based in New York.
She was married for 51 years to United Airlines Captain Norman “Mike” Boring, who died in 1998.
Mrs. Boring was always involved in volunteer work. She drove patients to medical appointments and provided transportation for shopping through FISH for over 25 years. She volunteered weekly at the Dorothy Day soup kitchen in Danbury for more than eight years, feeding homeless people. She also drove for Meals on Wheels, was a founding member of the Ridgefield Family Y, served on the board of directors and various committees of the Ridgefield Visiting Nurse Association, and was a volunteer for the American Red Cross Bloodmobile.
Mrs. Boring was also a eucharistic minister at St. Mary’s Church for many years. She was also a Confraternity of Christian Doctrine teacher there, even after her own children were grown.
“Her faith, based on her personal relationship with Jesus Christ, was an encouragement to all she knew or met,” said a family member. “She always had a kind and uplifting word or prayer for those who needed it. Bible studies in her home were a delight for those who came to learn more about God’s love, as well as to enjoy the ‘million-dollar view’ from her glassed-in living room overlooking a lake.”
Mrs. Boring was an avid reader, and loved the ocean along the New England coast and in St. Augustine, Fla., where she enjoyed the winter months. She was an active golfer through ladies leagues at the Ridgefield Golf Course and in St. Augustine. She and her husband were also members of the Retired United Airlines Pilots’ Association.
“Her legacy is her large, loving family who had the privilege of caring for her during her illness,” said a family member. “She was surrounded by love and surrendered to the great love of God. She will be greatly missed by her family and dear friends who were so faithful to visit, call and send gifts of Mass cards, flowers, cards and treats during her illness.”
She is survived by six children, Sue Ellen Oblom of Revere, Mass., Michael Boring of Odessa, N.Y., Martha Northway of Bakersfield, Calif., Jeanne McMahon of Andover, Mass., Jackie Curtsinger of Northport, Fla., and Mary Kay Oakland of Bainbridge Island, Wash. She is also survived by 23 grandchildren and by her sister, Helen Deiana, of Hopkinton, Mass.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Wednesday at St. Mary’s Church. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Contributions in Mrs. Boring’s memory may be made to the Ridgefield VNA, 90 East Ridge, Ridgefield, CT 06877.
The Kane Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.