Mary R. Scarduzio

Mary R. Scarduzio (nee Branco), on April 6, 2022 age 98 of Southampton, NJ, formerly of Pennsauken and Shamong NJ. Beloved wife of the late Thomas A., Sr. Dear mother of Maria Scarduzio King (Marshall) and the late Thomas A Scarduzio Jr.  Loving grandmother of Thomas King (Christina), Douglas King (Bethany), Jennifer Scarduzio (Travis), Bradley King (Jennifer), Jacquelyn Bunker (Mark) and Ian Davis; great-grandmother of Josephine, Nicholas, Barrett, Claire and James Thomas. And beloved mother-in-law of Denise Scarduzio  Also survived by her many nieces, nephews and dear friends.

Mary was beloved by all who knew her. She was born in Camden NJ on August 22, 1923 to Italian immigrant parents who came to the US for a better life. One of seven children she left school to help support the family working as a seamstress in a clothing factory. But Mary was as smart as a whip and no one was more hard working. She self taught herself to sew when she was asked on a date and had nothing to wear. That talent translated into a lifetime of sewing for both as a way to make a living and to help sew for her family. Over the years she made 100's of dresses, outfits and costumes including wedding gowns, communion dresses, bridesmaid gowns, evening gowns, dresses, suits, Halloween and play costumes; even parachutes for the military. And she made them all with love. Every piece she made had to be perfect, never doing anything just to “pass inspection”. 

She married the love of her life, Thomas “Buddy” Scarduzio in 1949 and raised a family together in Pennsauken. They had 2 children, a son Thomas Jr. who predeceased her and a daughter Maria. From there the family grew to 6 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. 

She was one of a kind sweet, lovely Mary. She was a very honest person and if she noticed that the hem on your dress was crooked, she was not shy about telling you so. She had a heart that was enormous and she had room for everyone she ever met to fit in it. She lived her life on her own terms and she did it with dignity and grace.

Her faith was very important to her and she was not shy about that even if you didn’t ask her.  She carried rosary beads and prayer cards with her always for comfort and strength.

She will always be remembered for her kindness and generosity of both her time and talents to all who knew her..

In 2018, at the age of 94, Mary was solicited to be the first seamstress for the charity “Heavens Baby Angels”. She was featured in a two page spread in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It was picked up on the AP wire and dresses began arriving from as far away as the State of Washington. This organization collects wedding gowns donated by brides after their weddings. The talented seamstresses design and create beautiful comfort baby clothing for bereaved parents. Four years later Heavens Baby Angels has converted those donated gowns to over 4,688 baby outfits. Currently they service 48 hospitals and are growing rapidly.  

This was a charity very near and dear to Mary’s heart. If you would like to make a donation to a charity in her name please consider making it to:

Heavens Baby Angels c/o

Sally Behar, 173 Everton Place, Galloway, NJ 08205

Family and friends are welcome to her viewings on Sunday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 pm and on Monday morning from 9:00 to 10:00 am in the BOCCO FUNERAL HOME, 1300 North Kings Hwy., Cherry Hill, NJ 08034.  Funeral Mass will be celebrated 11:00am Monday at St. Mary of the Lakes R.C. Church, 40 Jackson Rd., Medford, NJ 08055. For those who can not attend the funeral Mass in-person, St. Mary of the Lakes R.C. Church will livestream the funeral Mass by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/c/smlparish. Entombment Harleigh Cemetery, Camden, NJ. 

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