Mary Catherine (McGeogh) Cusick

Mary Cusick of Laurel, MD, passed away peacefully with the grace of the Sacraments on November 6, 2023. She was 86. Mary was born on December 25, 1936, in Detroit, MI, to James and Dorothy McGeogh. She became a registered nurse, graduating from Mt. Carmel Mercy School of Nursing, Class of 1957. She married Richard (Dick) Cusick on May 21, 1960, and worked as a nurse to support him while he completed his engineering degree at the University of Detroit. She gave birth to Maureen and Kevin before they moved to Laurel, MD, to join Dick as he started his lifelong career at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The rest of their six children Patrick, Brian, Conor and Sheila were born in Maryland.

Mary and Dick joined St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church in Laurel in 1962. Over 61 years she  was active in the choir, organizing dances, dinners and fundraisers for both St. Mary of the Mills School and St. Vincent Pallotti High School. Mary was a staunch supporter of the prolife movement, especially through the parish bus trip to Washington, DC, for the annual March for Life. Mary also served again as a registered nurse for 15 years at Montgomery General Hospital. She was a lifelong member and past president of the JHU/APL Women’s Club.

Mary and Dick traveled extensively with the family locally on the Chesapeake Bay, north to Canada and south to Florida on the family sailing vessels Seven C’s and Irish Blessing. When not traveling on their boat, Mary spent the summers at the beach in Delaware. Trips to Europe included Ireland and in later years many times to Italy with Dick and their son, Fr. Kevin. Later in life their travels included visiting their children and grandchildren. 

One of Mary’s greatest joys was dancing splendidly with her husband. They were renowned to family and friends as a skilled dancing pair, winning contests, impressing at receptions, even drawing a crowd once on the street in Milan.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents James and Dorothy and her brother James.

She is survived by her daughters Maureen Thomas of Bethesda, MD, Sheila (Nedim) Zetinoglu, of Baltimore, MD, sons Father Kevin of Saint Francis de Sales Church in Benedict, MD, Patrick (Joanne) of Catonsville, MD, Brian (Jeff) of Washington, D.C., and Conor (Peggy) of Catonsville, MD; eleven grandchildren: Matthew, Kathleen and Andrew Thomas; Emma (Josh) Kingett, Kelly, Colleen, Maura, Erin, and Maggie Cusick; and Riley (Jingyi) and Celia Cusick, and two great-grandchildren, Brendan Kingett and Harvey Cusick. Mary is survived also by her brother Frank McGeogh, and sisters Dorothy Bridges and Carol McKinney.

The family would like to thank the Sisters Servants of Mary Immaculate and the staff of St. Joseph's Nursing Home for the care and compassion they showed Mary in her final years.

Family and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday, November 17, at 11:00 A.M. at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church, St. Mary’s Place, Laurel, MD 20707. Interment to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery.

In remembrance of Mary Cusick’s life, the family asks that any charitable donations be made to St. Joseph’s Nursing Home, 1222 Tugwell Drive, Catonsville, MD 21228.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary Catherine (McGeogh) Cusick, please visit our floral store.