COYNE, MARY FRANCES (June 8, 1933-January 15, 2023) was a businesswoman, civic volunteer, and active charitable organizer. She was born to Irish immigrant parents James O’Rourke and Mary Burke, who hailed from Counties Down and Galway, respectively.
Mary attended NOTRE DAME ACADEMY as a member of the Class of 1951. Moving on to study at Duke and Spencerian Business College (now the DAVID N. MYERS UNIVERSITY) as well as URSULINE COLLEGE, she paid for her higher education with a job at the WEATHERHOOD COMPANY making aircraft components for defense purposes.
While advancing her career and education, in 1954 she married John P. Coyne, a life partner in their sixty-eight-year marriage. Her assistance assured that John could make a career in the northeast Ohio parking industry. The two co-founded Willow Shore Realty, in which she took a leading role as a manager, real estate investor, and court appraiser.
Beyond their working partnership, the couple also collaborated in volunteering for charitable organizations. Proud of their Irish heritage, they were concerned about the political and sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles.” As a way to help young people affected by this tension, they invited five Protestant and five Catholic children to stay in Cleveland for six weeks every year. While “Project Children,” as the program was titled, originated in New York, the Coynes brought it to northeast Ohio and worked as its coordinators from 1981 until 1996. For their role in bringing over 300 Northern Irish children, they were awarded the 1998 Irish American Archives Society’s WALKS OF LIFE AWARD. They also started the John and Mary Coyne Charitable Foundation, which offered over thirty educational grants from 1999 to 2020.
Mary Coyne continued her community service in organizations that she took a personal interest in. In 1969, she became the president of the CATHERINE HORSTMANN HOME, which taught dependent women valued life skills. Furthermore, she took an active role in the Irish American Archives Society, Carmelite Guild, CHRIST CHILD SOCIETY, WOMEN’S CITY CLUB, EAST SIDE IRISH AMERICAN CLUB, and WEST SIDE IRISH AMERICAN CLUB.
Mary and John Coyne were parents to six children: Cathleen Lane, Dennis, Thomas, Michael, Martin, and Terence. She passed away on January 15, 2023, surrounded by her family, and is buried in Cleveland’s LAKE VIEW CEMETERY.
David Brennan