Mary Lou Lizzio, 82, of Annapolis: Obituary

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Mary Lou Lizzio, 82, a resident of Annapolis, MD, died on Sunday, November 6, at the Coastal Hospice at the Lake in Salisbury, MD. Born on May 7, 1934 in Brooklyn, NY, to the late Carl and Etta Vane, Mary Lou was one of 8 children.

Mary was married to Jim Lizzio for 46 years, until his passing in February, 2001. Mary and Jim raised two boys, Jimmy and Tom, who were with their mother until the end of her long battle with Alzheimer’s. Mary and Jim were regulars at car shows, sharing their classics with others and traveling all around the region. They showed cars together, they bowled together and they went to their boys' sporting events together. Basically, Mary and Jim were inseparable.

As one of eight children, Mary was extremely tough and known to be freakishly strong, she showed this right to the end. Her two sons often had many of their athletic friends hanging around the house and they were all amazed at Mary’s strength. She wouldn’t hesitate to give the boys a little swat, take them down in arm wrestling and other various challenges, just to remind them who was in charge. She was extremely athletic, was a very competitive and was a top area bowler well into her 60s. She even competed with the Women Pro Bowler’s tournament on a few occasions. Simply, Mary loved all sports and was regularly seen and known for hauling her two sons to multiple sporting events throughout the state of Maryland and beyond. When her boys played sports in school, Mary was always in the stands … she and her husband never missed a game.

Mary was blessed with 4 grandchildren. She had one grandson by Jim and Debbie, named Tony, who spent a great deal of time with his grandmother while he was young. Tony affectionately called her “Punkin” since saying Grandma was an early age challenge for him. “Punkin” became Mary’s nickname for many close to her. Mary also had three granddaughters by Tom and Lynn, named Kelsey, Katie and Kristen, who were all blessed to have her close by until she became ill. Of course she loved to watch her grandchildren participate in all types of events and would always come to any of their school functions or sporting events.

Mary will be sorely missed by her sons, Jim, and his wife Michele, as well as Tom and his wife, Lynn. She is survived by her grandchildren, along with her brothers Joey, Buddy, and Jimmy Vane, and sister-in-law Marilyn Lizzio.

Friends are invited to celebrate Mary's life on Wednesday, November 9 from 6 to 8 pm at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road in Edgewater. Graveside service and interment will be held on Thursday, November 10 at 10:45 am at the Maryland Veterans Cemetery, 1122 Sunrise Beach Rd., Crownsville, MD.

»Information from the George P. Kalas Funeral Home website.