Mary E. (Correia) Fraga, loving wife of Antone Fraga for 61 years, peacefully joined her husband in the afterlife on Saturday, May 11, 2019. Mary was youthful, upbeat and positive even at the time of her passing at age 92. Pre-deceased by her brother Joseph Correia (2005) of Raynham and her brother Lionel Correia (2000) of Taunton, Mary leaves her loving sister Patricia Barker of Gaffney, S.C.
She is survived by her devoted daughter Kathleen Bart and son-in-law Richard Bart of Hilton Head S.C., devoted daughter Karen Kolb and son-in-law David Kolb MD of Martha’s Vineyard. She left a large grand and great grand-family: grandson Aaron Bart, granddaughter-in-law Karen Bart and great grandchildren Riley and Cassidy Bart all of Marion MA, grandson Adam Bart of Pasadena, California, granddaughter Alison Lieberman, grandson-in-law Shane Lieberman and great grandson Parker Lieberman all of Bethesda, Maryland, grandson Noah Kolb MD and granddaughter-in-law Amanda Kolb MD and great granddaughters Madeline and Isabelle Kolb all of Charlotte, Vermont, and grandson Jonah Kolb, granddaughter-in-law Maureen Collins Kolb and great grandchildren Pierce and Maude Kolb, all of Clinton, Illinois. She was the proud aunt of many nieces and nephews, and leaves behind a remarkably caring and devout extended family of Fraga in-laws and Correias in Massachusetts and in states across the US.
Born Oct 18, 1926 Taunton, Massachusetts, Mary Elsie Correia was the first daughter and third child of Jose Correia and Maria Gloria Cambra, both proud and productive immigrants from Saint Michael, Azores, Portugal. Mary attended the Walker Grammar School of Taunton and Taunton High School. After graduation, she enrolled in the Wilfred Beauty Academy in Boston, where she learned both the art and business of cosmetology.
Mary met the love of her life and husband to be Tony Fraga at the Roseland Ballroom in Taunton in 1946. Tony proposed one evening on the pier of Onset Beach; the two were married Oct 18, 1947 at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Taunton. After working in several area beauty salons, she struck out on her own and independently opened “Fraga’s Beauty Corner” on the second floor of the young couple’s Pratt Street home.
She ran the fulltime business, kept her two young daughters and husband happy, and made women of all ages beautiful for an uninterrupted 34 years. Tony and Mary eventually purchased a second home on Cape Cod; the Onset cottage was the gathering placed for friends and relatives from both sides of their extended families. It was a rare weekend when singing and music improvised on an accordion, ukuleles, pots and pans, and a wash tub bass guitar couldn’t be heard in the neighborhood.
A sign over the front door described it well: “Fraga’s Fun House”. After retiring at age 62 due to shoulder pain, Mary’s next life, that of community service, began in earnest. At various times over many years, she was a member of or volunteer for the Taunton Literacy Group, Taunton Girls Club, Taunton Art Association, the Weirs and Oakland Seniors Group, the Taunton Garden Club, the Red Hat Society, and the Friends of Taunton Public library.
She was a principal founder of the WEIR corporation, and worked in that capacity tirelessly to revitalize Taunton’s Weir Village. She served as vice-president of the local Chamber of Commerce. Devoutly religious, she attended Our Lady of Lourdes Church for years, and sung in their choir, served as a Eucharistic minister, and was involved in many church and diocesan committees.
In later life, she was a communicant of St. Andrew the Apostle Church. Her accolades were echoed in many local newspaper articles; she was officially recognized by the Massachusetts’s House of Representatives and State Senate for work with the WEIR Corporation. She received the JC Penney Golden Rules Award, and was the sole recipient of the prestigious Marian Medal from the Diocese of Fall River in 2002.
She said goodbye to her husband when he died in 2007. In the last years of her life, she loved and was loved by the staff of Arbors Assisted Living of Taunton and Sippican Health Care Center of Marion. Even in her last days as her body slowly weakened, her brain remained alert and engaging.
Deeply committed to her family, Mary will be remembered most by them for her warmth, positive attitude, and fortitude in the face of adversity. Loved deeply by blood relatives and in-laws alike, her passing leaves a special void that cannot be filled. Mrs. Fraga’s funeral will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 8:30am from the Silva Funeral Home 80 Broadway (at Saint Mary’s Square) Taunton, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 am in St. Andrew the Apostle church, Kilmer Ave.
, Taunton. Interment will follow in St. Joseph Cemetery, Taunton. Visiting Hours will be held on Wednesday, May 15th from 4 to 7 pm in the Silva Funeral Home.
(Additional parking with handicap access is located on the North side of the Funeral Home. ) In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts made to; Girls, Inc. of Taunton, would be deeply appreciated. For expressions of sympathy, to sign an online guestbook or to light a memorial candle, visit www.
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