Mary Tappe Barbaro (née Michel) of Concord, MA passed away peacefully on January 24 at Emerson Hospital after a brief illness. She was 96 years old.

Mary was born on October 12, 1927 in Freeport, Illinois to Mildred and Clement Michel. She graduated from Aquin High School and went on to attend university at Clarke College in Dubuque, IA. She graduated cum laude from Clarke in 1948 and married her high school sweetheart, Richard (Dick) Tappe, in 1949. They soon decided to move to Stevens Point, WI to put down their roots.

In 1957, she and Dick adopted their son, Jimmy Tappe, followed by Mary Jane Tappe Hayes in 1960. In an era when most married women with children were exclusively homemakers, Mary decided to pursue her education while her children were young; she went back to school in the late 1960's to earn a Masters of Library Science from the University of Wisconsin.

After many happy years in Wisconsin, Mary's husband, Dick received an offer from Sentry Insurance to transfer to their office in Concord, MA. So, in 1974, she and her family relocated to New England. Once in Concord, a place Mary once called her "forever home," she busied herself working at the quilt shop downtown, where she could share her expertise and love of quilting with customers.

After Mary's husband, Dick, passed away in 1980, she went to work for Sentry Insurance in their legal department, where she worked until her retirement in 1995.

In 1991, after she lost her beloved son Jimmy to the AIDS crisis, Mary channeled her love and loss into the AIDS Quilt, a global effort to commemorate and honor those who lost their lives to the epidemic. The quilt panel she lovingly made in Jimmy's honor is a part of the full AIDS Quilt now housed in San Francisco, stewarded by the National AIDS Memorial.

Mary shared her passion and talent for quilting with her extended family as well. Every time a new baby was born, she would create a beautiful baby quilt, many of which are treasured to this day by her daughter, grand-daughter, nieces, nephews, their children, and their children's children. Mary was also an expert knitter, knitting countless wool socks, hats, mittens, and scarves as gifts for her loved ones.

Mary was a talented pianist who loved sharing her music with others. For many years, she could be found most Sundays playing the organ during mass at St. Bernard's Catholic Church.

Not content to spend all of her time in Concord, Mary was a lifelong traveler, taking trips to Italy, Paris, Spain, and other far flung places. When she wasn't traveling, quilting or knitting, she spent countless hours devouring books she checked out at the Concord Public Library and enjoying the company of her friends at the Concord Council on Aging's Lunch Club.

Mary was a devout Catholic, and a compassionate, empathetic person who believed in family, community, kindness, and a good crossword puzzle.

She is survived by her daughter, Mary Jane Hayes (née Tappe), granddaughter Stephanie Hayes Wyman (Steve) and great-grandchildren Bruce and Valerie, grandsons Brian Hayes (Christine) and Jimmy Hayes, brothers William Michel and Jeron Michel, as well as fourteen nieces and nephews, countless grand- and great-grand-nieces and nephews, and a circle of friends and caregivers. She was preceded in death by her parents, Mildred and Clement, her younger sister Jane Smith Melnick (née Michel), her nephew Jeffrey Michel, her husband Richard Tappe, her son Jimmy Tappe, and her second husband Jim Barbaro.

Mass will be held on Friday May 10, 2024 at 11 AM, at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 229 W. Washington Pl in Freeport. Friends may call at the church at 10:30 AM. Interment of ashes will be in St. Joseph Cemetery.