Mary Ellen McCue

Mary Ellen passed away at the Joe Raso Hospice in New City on Monday, January 19, 2026. The only daughter of George and Audrey (Heckendorn) McCue, she was born in Manhattan on June 15, 1954.   Mary Ellen joins her father, her great pal Father John Quinn, and a number of ARC BFFs in heaven.

Mary Ellen (MEM) was born with Down syndrome in a time when many children diagnosed with a developmental disability were warehoused in institutions.  Her parents received advice from a Dr. Jervis that they would never regret having her as part of family life and this proved to be true a hundred-fold.   Mary Ellen succeeded as a lively middle child with four male siblings (hooligans all: Michael, Laurence, Kevin, and William).  She used her keen wit and sense of humor to negotiate the family dynamic and the world at large. As an example: if something bad happened at the house and our parents were seeking the perpetrator, MEM would face down any accusation by stating, “I wasn’t in that room”.   It became a family punchline.

Mary Ellen received services and education from the ARC Rockland all her life. ARC provided her with so many opportunities: from learning at Happy Valley and Jesse J. Kaplan schools, to residential life at a succession of group homes where she made great friends and received loving care.  She worked for ARC’s sheltered workshop and took pride in the weekly checks she received. It did not matter that they were in the range of $20 – they were a fortune for her and reward for being a hard worker. Truth be told, she often snuck off the assembly line to prowl the executive corridor at ARC to check on folks and troll for quarters to use in the vending machines.

No one had more nicknames than MEM.  Honey bunny, Sugi, Pipe, Princess, Bubbles, and more. She loved dancing and music, especially Joan Baez. We heard karaoke versions of Kumbaya and Michael, row the boat ashore as they were on repeat for years. She loved to ride her bicycle around the old neighborhood in Spring Valley. If she disappeared you would know she was at the Bernhart household three blocks away or with the Anthony Drive posse at whoever’s house was HQ that day. MEM was a creature of habit fueled by her elephant like memory. She memorized phone numbers and could recite them on command. On Sundays a number of family and friends would receive a “checking-in” phone call.  We can picture her sipping a diet peach Snapple while doing so.

Mary Ellen was well travelled. In addition to family vacations, she went on many trips with the SPROUT program sponsored by ARC.  Disney, Arizona, cruises, and more were enjoyed.

In addition to her mother and brothers, Mary Ellen is survived by a number of aunts, nieces, and nephews.

MEM will be waked at Wyman-Fisher funeral home in Pearl River on Wednesday, January 21

from 3 to 7 p.m.    A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 11 a.m. on Thursday at St. Margaret of Antioch in Pearl River. Burial follows at Ascension Cemetery in Airmont.

Donations to ARC Rockland would be appreciated.

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