Mariane V. Carey

Our beautiful and beloved mother passed from this life on to adventures unknown on October 17, 2021. Mariane (van Valkenburg) Carey, daughter of Dr. Samuel and Erica (Ashauer) van Valkenburg, was born in Jakarta, Indonesia (formally the Dutch East Indies) in 1923. Although she immigrated to the United States in 1926, Mom remained very proud of her Dutch heritage. She grew up in Worcester, MA, later graduating from Bancroft School (Worcester, MA) and Westbrook Jr. College (Portland, ME). Married and later divorced, Mariane worked at the law firm Mirick, O'Connell, DeMallie and Lougee as a receptionist to support her five children. Mom brought us up to value education and lifelong learning, independence, humor, whimsy and a love for all things chocolate. Her fudge was magnificent! In her later years, dementia may have robbed her of her memories, but could never dull her spirit or erase the twinkle in her bright blue eyes. Even in her final days, Mom had a very special talent; she could spell any word backwards as quickly as most people could spell the same word forwards. She loved clothes, flirting, Christmas, butterflies, a good snowstorm, “painting the sky”, and her morning coffee. But most of all, she loved her family. She leaves her daughters: Pamela Lentz and her husband Robert of Leesburg, VA, and Jennifer Carey-Robinson and her husband Gary of Leicester, MA with whom she lived for these past 9 years, and her three sons: Stephen Carey and his wife Kathy of Brunswick, ME, Jonathan Carey and his wife Patricia of Auburn, MA, and Mark Carey and his wife Kathleen of The Villages, Fl. She also leaves 14 grandchildren, and 5 ½ great-grandchildren. Mariane leaves her beloved sister Denise Lalim of Fishers, IN; her very best friend, Lori Pinkham of Rutland, MA; and her special pup, Panda. She is predeceased by her brother, Frederick van Valkenburg. The family would like to thank the staff of the 122 Diner in Holden for the love they showed Mom in making her special pancake every day. We also thank the Jewish HealthCare Hospice program, especially her nurse, Hillary, social worker, Emily, and CNAs, Meg and Bernice for their loving care and dedication to making Mom’s final months as comfortable as possible. In one of her final moments of clarity, she declared, “When I am gone, remember that I have had a wonderful life and that I have loved you all very much.” We will always remember you, Mom; we will carry you in our hearts and celebrate the incredible woman that you were. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Jeff’s Place Children’s Bereavement Center, 281 Pleasant Street, Framingham, MA 01701. We will miss you, Mom, but we will smile every time we see a clear blue sky. Tot ziens, gentle Lady, we will see you soon.