Obituary of Mary Louise Gans

Mary Louise Gans, age 84, of the Town of Western, NY, passed away peacefully on November 28, 2016, surrounded by her loving family. Mary Louise was born on April 28, 1932 in St. Louis, MO to the late Earl and Olivia Spencer Hoffman. She attended and graduated from Notre Dame High School in Belmont, CA, then the College of Notre Dame, now the University of Notre Dame, de Namur and Cal-Berkley. After college, Mary Louise sang in Hollywood and Las Vegas. Mary Louise was a gifted coloratura singer. In Vegas, she sang in a sketch with Abbot and Costello. She toured Central America with a big band. Then she won the 1957 Merola Award and became a member of the San Francisco Opera Company. She was the understudy to Maria Callas and sang in the American debut of Poulenc's opera 'Dialogue of the Carmelites' with Leontyne Price. On November 30, 1957, she was united in holy matrimony to Michael J. Gans at St. Isadore's Church in Danville, CA. She and Michael moved to Monmouth County, NJ for his work at Bell Labs. Living there for 35 years, they sang with the Opera Society, the choirs of St. James Church in Red Bank, Nativity Church in Fair Haven, Precious Blood Church in Monmouth Beach, and St. Catherine's Church in Holmdel. They then moved to Rome for Michael's work at Griffiss AFRL. Mary Louise was a devout Catholic and a daily communicant at St. Peter's with her beloved husband, Michael. She was also devoted to the National Right to Life. Her wish is that everyone be reconciled in God's holy Church. She would often say, "I love you. Tell everyone, I love them." Mary Louise is survived by her loving husband of 59 years, Michael; four daughters, Olivia Turner (Robert), Julianne Stokes (Jon), Kathleen Magnusson (Todd), and Margaret Graham (Steven), and three sons, Michael (Kevin), James, and William (Rachel); 22 grandchildren, six great grandchildren; a brother and sister in law, Earl and Donna Hoffman; brothers and sisters in law, Ray and Joanne Gans and Susan and William McCarthy; and many beloved nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends. She was predeceased by a daughter, Virginia Byrd. Funeral services will be held from the Barry Funeral Home, 807 W. Chestnut Street, at 9:15 AM and a Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Peter's Church at 10 AM, with the Rev. Philip A. Hearn officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery in the spring. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Monday from 4 to 7 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund at www.nrlc.org/donate. Please offer online condolences at: www.BarryFuneralHome.com.