Obituary of Mary Clifford-McArdle

Mary Clifford McArdle, age 68, beloved wife and mother, died peacefully on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 3 pm. She was born on August 23, 1948, in Utica, NY to the late Richard and Charlotte Clifford. and was married to William S. (Tad) McArdle on August 8, 1981. Mary attended Our Lady of Visitation High School in Paramus, NJ. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in English from Fordham University; an MSW (Masters in Social Work) and a Masters Degree in Theology from Fordham as well. From 1970 to 2003 she worked for the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services; following that she worked for Children's Aid and Family Services from 2004 to 2010, retiring that year. From 1981 until her retirement she lived with Tad in Ramsey, NJ, attending St. Paul's Catholic Church; later both joined the Ridgewood NJ Society of Friends. Their son Michael was born on March 7, 1984. Tad and Mary moved to Fearrington Village, Pittsboro, NC in 2010, where she attended St. Thomas More Catholic Church and, with Tad, the Chapel Hill Society of Friends. Mary was an avid genealogist, co-founding a Genealogy Club in Fearrington, and had planned to begin a women's spirituality group as well. Survivors include her husband Tad, her son Michael, her sisters Virginia Baldassari and Joan Clifford, and her brothers James and Michael. Mary was preceded in death by her sister Barbara Ciliberto. Mary will be missed by all who knew and loved her for her warmth, her razor wit, her range of knowledge, her clarity of perception, and her loving and profound attachment to her family and friends. A funeral mass will be held at 10 am on Friday, December 23, at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill, NC. In lieu of flowers in sympathy, people may make a charitable donation to the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service (https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/IFC), a local charity that Mary loved very much; or a donation to St. Thomas More Catholic Church (https://stmchapelhill.org/automated-giving). Walker's Funeral Home of Chapel Hill is honored to be serving the family. Online condolences may be offered at www.walkersfuneralservice.com.