Marjory Mazziotta
Written by her daughter Hannah Mulchrone
Awe inspiring!
That’s how I describe my mother!
Marjory Nora Boyle Mazziotta was born in 1930 to my grandparents, two Irish Immigrants from County Donegal. She was the youngest and only one of the five children to be born in the United States. A true New Yorker, she was born and raised in Manhattan. It was in New York that she was molded into the person she is — a Catholic, a workhorse, a wife, a survivor and a mother! My mom, now 92 years of age is someone I love, admire and aspire to be like each and every day!
NYC was her home! More specifically, the island borough of Manhattan. NYC was a bustling city with endless opportunities. She attended Catholic grade school and upon graduation, without the financial opportunity to attend college, my mom joined the workforce full steam ahead. She sold hair brushes at the “Miracle on 34th Street” Macy’s, she dyed her brunette hair red — a requirement to work as an elevator operator in one of New York’s skyscraper office buildings. Finally, she made a long term career as one of New York City’s finest NYPD! This was bold for a women in the 1950s when the police force was almost exclusively male. I heard stories of her holding prostitutes by their ankles as they tried to escape jail through a window, undercover work posing as a pregnant women to bust illegal abortions, and patrolling Yankee games.
Her career as a police woman ended after she married my dad age 32. Ironically, these two New Yorkers (my dad is from the Bronx) met across the river in Jersey! They met at the Essex and Sussex’s hotel bar on the Jersey Shore! They soon married, moved to Queens and had their first child, one of their eventual 3 children. This is when my mom left her work as an officer and did the unthinkable — moved her young family to New Jersey! My mom was a great stay-at-home mom. My best memories were the summer camping trips she planned! Every summer we would take to our Volkswagen camper and drive up and down the East coast all the way from Eastern Canada to Maine and as far south as Florida. We toured big cities and small beach towns and spent each night in a campground, one with nature. My favorite site was Chincoteage Island in Virginia known for its wild ponies with swollen bellies due to the salt water. Also, I loved my “Virginia is For Lovers “ T-shirt souvenir! I thought my mom was a celebrity when she volunteered in my grade school library and I vividly remember my reward for a good report card — my very own personal, homemade cake shaped and decorated like a house! What a great Mom!
My mom didn’t stay at home for too long! When I was in junior high she put herself through college! She was always up late at night in the little room off her bedroom studying after attending classes during the day. While raising three children she managed to graduate with a nursing degree from William Patterson College in New Jersey. She went on to have a twenty-plus year career as a nurse at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. A memory I have from my mom’s early nursing career was her coming home and calling the hospital anonymously to check the status of a vulnerable patient. I remember her leaving the house at 5am in her white nursing dress and coming home well after 7pm ! A floor nurse is an exhausting job both physically and mentally!
At 92, my mom is a survivor. She has outlived all of her siblings, the tragic loss of her own daughter as well as another tragic loss of her husband. She has survived both breast and colon cancer as well. She is a fighter!
Marjory Nora Boyle Mazziotta values her Catholic faith, hard work, education and family. I strive each and every day to be more like my amazingly strong and smart mother! It is in her name that I am happy to support the Saint Ignatius Tuition Assistance Program.