Mary Moriarty Brusch Enjoyed Island Summers

Mary Moriarty Brusch, of Quincy, and life-long visitor to the Island, died on Jan. 14 at the age of 75, after a brief illness. Mrs. Brusch had strong ties to the Vineyard and will be greatly missed by her family and many friends here.

As a child, Mrs. Brusch summered at the Eleanor and Edgar Cottle farmstead in West Tisbury. After graduation from Berrea College of the Sacred Heart, she married Joseph A. Brusch of Harvard, living in Cambridge, but still enjoying Vineyard summer vacations. Later Mrs. Brusch purchased a small Edgartown cottage where she and her three daughters summered. Mrs. Brusch became a friend of the Gazette staff, working as an inserter for the weekly press run. She also was employed at the Colonial Inn as a night watchman, where she was fondly regarded as Midnight Mary by the night people who stopped by for coffee or a chat. During the off-season, Mrs. Brusch cared for her aging mother in the large Victorian house in Quincy. She earned a law degree from Portia Law School and also worked as a substitute teacher for high schools on the South Shore. When her youngest daughter settled on the Island, Mrs. Brusch continued to summer in Edgartown, enjoying beach days with her grandchildren.

Mrs. Brusch was a resourceful and talented individual. She was noted for her knitting talent, her love of animals, her commitment to family, and her skill at bargain hunting. She always had a pot on the stove to share with visitors who came to the house, and a ready conversation for people who she encountered on her errands. For the last few years Mrs. Brusch stayed close to her Quincy home, assisted by her oldest daughter, enjoying old movies, holiday family gatherings and her pets. She was a weekly volunteer at a food bank in Quincy. Although Mrs. Brusch no longer traveled to the Vineyard, she enjoyed learning news of friends and remembered fondly her favorite Island events.

Mrs. Brusch is survived by her three daughters, Anne Brusch of Quincy, Kathryn Johnson of Maine and Judy Baynes of Edgartown; her grandchildren, Amasa McMahan, Mason and Matthew Johnson and Alex and Amy Baynes; a great-grandson, Benjamin McMahan; her former husband Joseph and his two sons, Joseph and Charles; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her siblings, Joseph Moriarty, Anna Cronin and Eleanor Butler.

A private gathering of family is planned for the spring.