Obituary of Mary Furlong

Mary “Mae” Furlong, (Widger) 89, of Melbourne, Florida, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her daughters on Sunday, March 26th, 2023. She was born on August 16th, 1933 in Waterford, Ireland where she spent all of her childhood. She immigrated to the United States in 1956 on the Cunard Ship Line and had fond memories of coming into the New York Harbor and seeing the Statue of Liberty. A couple of years later she met her husband, Michael “Mickey” Furlong, at an Irish establishment in New York. They would marry two years later and settle to raise their family in Hazlet, NJ in 1965. They remained there until 1987 when they moved to Palm Bay, Florida and subsequently to Melbourne. Mae worked at Western Union and later was a nurse’s aide at Bayshore Nursing Home and Arnold Walter Nursing Home in Hazlet before she retired to Florida. Mae’s family was her whole life and she enjoyed spending time with all of them. She was affectionately called “Granny” by her kids and grandkids and her eyes always lit up when any of them would come to visit her. She loved to go to the beach and one of her favorite things to do was go to mass on the beach at sunrise. She never forgot her Irish heritage and loved listening to songs from her past. Her favorite movie was Brooklyn as it reminded her of her life. One of her proudest moments was in 1989 when she became a US Citizen. Granny will be greatly missed but never forgotten. She was predeceased by her parents, Richard and Mai (Ryan) Widger. She was also predeceased by her loving husband Mickey Furlong who she was married to for 43 years, her son Johnny Furlong and her granddaughter Danielle Corcione. Mae is survived by her loving children Michelle Erb, Thomas “Toby” Furlong (Diane) Michael Furlong (Valerie) Mary Ehrhard, Margaret “Aggie” Coles (William) and Eileen Rourke (Michael), her 17 cherished grandchildren, Kelly, Brian, Lauren, Kyle, Kevin, Amanda, Thomas, Mick, Chris, Connor, Nicki, Catie Mae, Jimmy, Daniel, Kayley, Meghan, and Erin, her 5 treasured great grandchildren, Shea, Briella, Cami, Emmy, and Owen. Friends and family are invited to gather at Ascension Church, 2950 N Harbor City Blvd, Melbourne, Florida 32935 at 12:30pm on Saturday April 29 th to be followed by a mass service at the church at 1:00pm. Burial will take place right after the mass at St Joseph’s Cemetery in Palm Bay. Beach Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. In lieu of flowers the family is asking for donations to be made in Mary’s name to Ascension Church at the address above.