Obituary of Mary M. Gooley
Mary Margaret Salisbury Gooley passed away peacefully on December 30, 2019, at the age of 94, in the Rochester Presbyterian Home. She was born March 24, 1925, in Watertown, New York. She attended the University of Michigan, leaving before receiving her degree in order to nurse her ailing father in Rochester, NY. In 1947, Mary married the love of her life, Gerald Warren Gooley; they were married for 63 years until Gerry’s death in 2011.
Mary trained to be a medical technician at Rochester General Hospital under the tutelage of Dorothy White. Ms. White, R.N., and the mother of a child with hemophilia established the Rochester Hemophilia Society in 1949 as a volunteer support group for hemophilia patients and their families. In the early 1950s, outpatient treatment for hemophilia and insurance to cover hospital-based treatment of this hereditary, chronic blood disorder were nonexistent. Mary and several other technicians began to provide local hemophilia patients with “under the counter” comprehensive services that transcended formal clinic visits to include home transfusion therapy and social support. Over the years, she frequently spoke about keeping Factor VIII, an essential blood-clotting protein, in her freezer among the strawberries and peas.
In 1959, Mary was asked to formalize and coordinate these services with the clinical care offered by Rochester General Hospital, and she became the director of the first hemophilia center in the country outside of New York City. The Rochester Hemophilia Center was so successful that other cities in New York State, including Buffalo, Syracuse, Binghamton, and Albany, requested Mary’s help to establish their own centers.
Mary served as Director of the Rochester Hemophilia Center until 1986 when, upon her retirement, it was named the Mary M. Gooley Hemophilia Center. She was then elected to a seat on the Board of Directors of the National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF), and she served as NHF’s Vice President for Chapter Development. In 1992 Mary received NHF’s Humanitarian Award, which subsequently has been awarded annually as the Mary Gooley Humanitarian Award. In 2017, Mary was honored as a New York State Woman of Distinction by the New York State Senate.
In retirement, Mary was a mainstay of volunteerism at the Rochester Hemophilia Center and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, for which she and Gerry organized and hosted many fundraising galas. As a gift to her beloved hemophilia community, Mary created a serenity garden at her home on East Avenue where she hoped families would come to meditate, pray, and find peace. Her life was one of service to others, whether through her professional and voluntary commitments or through her kind dedication to the people and causes she cared about so passionately.
Mary lived her life out loud with a twinkle in her eyes, a warm and winning smile, and an infectious laugh that put others at ease, allowing them to feel listened to and supported. She leaves a community of patients, families, colleagues and friends who love her as much as she loved them, who will forever miss and never forget her. Mary Gooley will live on in the hearts of all those who were blessed to know her and whose lives were forever transformed by her love, compassion, and generosity.
She leaves behind loving companions and friends, Gary Vardabash, Donna Richardson, Joanna Bassett and Frida.
Friends are invited to a visitation held SATURDAY, JANUARY 11, 2020 from 10:30-11:30 AM at the Rochester Presbyterian Home (256 Thurston Road, Rochester, NY 14619 CLICK FOR MAP). Afterward, at 11:30, a celebration of Mary's life will be held. Interment will be held privately in Glenwood Cemetery, Watertown, NY.
Contributions in Mary’s name may be made to the Mary M. Gooley Rochester Hemophilia Center, 1415 Portland Ave., #500, Rochester, NY DONATE ONLINE; the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, 255 East Ave., Rochester, NY 14604 DONATE ONLINE; and to the Rochester Presbyterian Home, 256 Thurston Road, Rochester, NY 14619 DONATE ONLINE, where she received loving care during her final years.
