Marie Jeannine Mann

WILMINGTON- Marie Jeannine Mann, 94, died on September 14, at the Center for Living and Rehabilitation in Bennington. She was born on December 14, 1928 in Milford, MA to George Joseph and Marie Mitrano Lally. Mrs. Mann graduated from Milford High School in 1946. She attended Simmons College in Boston, graduating in 1950 with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1955 she completed her master’s in education at Boston University. She was a member of Alpha Delta Kappa for 25 years. As a sorority member she traveled to many national conventions.
Following in her mother’s footsteps, Mrs. Mann became a teacher and taught elementary school in North Easton, MA from 1952 until 1964.
Known by all as Jeannine, she married Lawrence Hale Mann in June 1961 in an elopement to Maine. They made their home in Brockton, MA but traveled to their chalet on Mann Road in Wilmington nearly every weekend of the year where they enjoyed skiing in the winter and gardening in the summer.
 Mrs. Mann was forced to resign teaching, as was the practice in those days, prior to the birth of her son, Lawrence Gilbert Mann in February 1965. As a stay-at-home mother, she learned to and became accomplished at knitting, crocheting, and sewing. She designed knitting patterns and sold them to magazines to supplement the family income. One of her knitting patterns for a sweater graced the cover of a magazine.
Mrs. Mann returned to teaching at Brockton Elementary School in 1973 and retired in 1994. She was a respected teacher, enforcing the basic principles of reading, writing, and arithmetic for a good education. She was loved by both her fellow teachers and students and was thrown a very extravagant surprise party upon her retirement.
Mrs. Mann traveled extensively during the summers before her retirement and after, visiting her ancestral homes of Ireland and Italy several times. She also traveled to Scotland, England, the Netherlands, and Russia. She also enjoyed her daily walks of the mall with her retired group of friends in Brockton.
Due to her failing eyesight, in 2010 Mrs. Mann moved permanently to the renovated chalet in Vermont, to be near her son Larry, where she enjoyed shopping, going out to eat, and family get-togethers at the holidays.
Mrs. Mann was predeceased by her parents, her husband Lawrence H. Mann on November 2, 1976, and her sister Carol Goodwin on January 22, 2014. She is survived by her son Larry Mann and his wife Michelle, step-grandson James Sprague and his wife Sarah Sprague, as well as Jimmy’s children Taylor and Brayden Sprague. She also leaves several cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Mrs. Mann will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at a later date next to her husband at the Village Cemetery in North Easton, MA. Contributions in her name may be made to the Vermont Association for the Blind, c/o Covey Allen and Shea Funeral Home, PO Box 215, Wilmington, VT  05363.