February 14, 2025

Mary Ann O'Neil Souza

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Mary Ann O'Neil Souza, 83, of Seekonk, passed away peacefully on January 16, 2025, with her family by her side. Born in Providence on August 14, 1941, she was the eldest daughter of the late James and Margaret (Waldron) O'Neil. She was the beloved wife of James Souza.

Mary Ann spent much of her childhood in Providence, attending St. Michael's and Assumption parish schools as well as St. Mary's Academy of the Visitation, before moving to Cranston, where she graduated from Cranston High School. As a young woman, she spent her summers at Roy Carpenter's Beach in Matunuck, alongside her siblings and many cousins. She could often be found sitting in the shade of the beach store, trying to stop the summer sun from multiplying the freckles on her face.

One New Year’s Eve she went on a double date, and at the end of the night, her date’s friend, James Souza, quietly asked for her number. They were married the following year, on February 6, 1965. They raised their five children in Seekonk, where she was active in the North School PTA and the St. Mary's Church community, hosting the annual Altar Boy pool party at their home.

Once her children had grown, Mary Ann, along with two of her sisters, returned to school and earned an associate’s degree in nursing from the Community College of Rhode Island. She worked as an LPN at Oak Hill Nursing Home in Pawtucket for many years before retiring to care for her aging parents.

In retirement, Mary Ann and Jim traveled the world, but their greatest joy came from being at home—hosting family pool parties, holiday gatherings, Sunday dinners, and Patriots games. Mary Ann could often be found in the kitchen with a towel draped over her shoulder or begging her grandchildren to keep the back door closed.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her five children: Kathleen and her husband Michael Crawley of Cumberland, James and his wife Keri of Phenix City, Alabama, Joseph and his wife Stacey of Cumberland, Jeffrey and his wife Jennifer of Cumberland, and Jennifer and her husband John Viveiros of Taunton. She also leaves behind her grandchildren: Patrick and his wife Kelly, Michaela and Trevor Crawley; Emily and her husband DJ McEachern, Victoria and her husband Travis Jones, Derrick, Alison, Nathanael, Ryan, Will, Jackson, and Jordan Souza, and Megan and Jack Viveiros, as well as her beloved great-granddaughter, Madeline Rae Crawley.

Mary Ann was the sister of James O’Neil and his wife Joan, formerly of Swansea; Kathleen and her late husband James Klonowski of Saginaw, Michigan; Patricia and her husband David DiGiacomo of Los Angeles, California; Ellen and her late husband Joseph Capaldi of Cranston; and Monica and her husband Charles Ulmschneider of Swansea. She was predeceased by her sister Roseann O'Neil. She also leaves many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who will miss her dearly.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 21st, at 10:00 AM in Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, Coyle Drive, Seekonk. Burial will be at St. Stephen’s Cemetery in Attleboro. Visiting hours will be held on Monday, January 20th from 4:00-7:00 PM in the Manning-Heffern-O’Neill Funeral Home, 220 Cottage St., Pawtucket.

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