Obituary of Mary Burnett

Mary Devereux Burnett, known to all as Deedie, was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 24, 1914. She graduated from the Academy of the Sacred Heart, Grosse Pointe, Michigan and, later, attended Seton Hall University. She was married during WWII to Major Richard Frederick Burnett, settling in Upper Montclair after the war. Deedie worked at Schering-Plough for 25 years, rising to the position of Manager of Schering’s Professional Correspondence Department where she became one of the company’s first female executives. Deedie retired in 1981, to become an active volunteer in the public schools as a tutor in reading, and an important volunteer at St. Cassian’s Church, serving as a Eucharistic Minister, a member of its Pastoral Council and its Financial Committee, and becoming St. Cassian’s Director of Service to Nursing Homes. She also served on a number of committees overseeing the building of St. Cassian’s new church. She is survived by 10 nieces and nephews and her many friends who will miss her dearly In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Doctors Without Borders.