Participant Info
- Membership Number
- 6419
- Salutation
- First Name
- Mary
- Middle/Maiden/Previous
- Last Name
- Schembari
- Address 1
- 41 Brookdale Avenue
- Address 2
- City
- Milford
- State
- CT
- Zip Code
- 06460
- Phone
- Code
- RO
- Work Code #
- 6
- State Membership
- Status
- 1
- Date of Birth
- 09/17/1925
- Date of Death
- 12/24/2023
- Deceased At Join?
- No
- Comments
- Marietta "Mary" Schembari Obituary Yes, her name was really Marietta, a song-like mouthful that she never used except on official documents, like this obituary. Marietta, 98 (that’s not a typo), a seven-decade resident of Milford, died on December 24, 2023 at Milford Hospital after a brief illness. Mary was born in Plains, Pa., on September 17, 1925 to Enrico and Filomena Balestrini and graduated from Sunbury High School, where she played in the marching band, in 1943. While many of the girls in her class took homemaking classes, Mary signed up for welding, so when she then followed her beloved older sister and best friend Josephine to Connecticut, Mary was snapped up by Chance Vought to weld a part on the wing of the Marine fighter-bomber F4U Corsair. It was the plane flown by “Pappy” Boyington and his Black Sheep Squadron. As her grandson Joseph said, her building planes that helped win the war was bada--. You can read about her Corsair exploits in Mary’s exhibit at the Connecticut Air and Space Center in Stratford. She is survived by her daughter, Diana Dunna of Milford, who cared for her mother the last few years, allowing Mary to realize her wish to remain In her home as her mobility declined; her son, Jim, and his wife, Christine Negroni of Old Greenwich; granddaughter, Marian Schembari, her husband, Elliot Speed, and daughter, June Schembari of Oregon; grandson Antonio Schembari and his wife, Dr. Jenae Linville of Arizona; grandson Samuel Schembari of Michigan; grandson Joseph Schembari of Michigan; goddaughters Kathryn Balestrini and Janet Sanders, both of Milford; and several special nieces and nephews.
- Name/Location of Company Worked
- Chance Voight, Bridgeport, CT
- Dates of Work
- 1943-1944
- Type of Work
- Welder
- Rosie Name if Rb or Rv
- Is/Was Rosie a member of ARRA?
- Yes
- Contact Name (Deceased Rosie Contact)
- Contact Email Address
- Contact Phone Number
- Contact Relationship