Mary Patricia Stevens Rowley

Mary Patricia Stevens Rowley, age 90, of Crescent Beach, Niantic, CT and South Kingstown, RI died peacefully on January 8, 2014 in South Kingstown, RI. Mary was born March 27, 1923 in Shanghai, China to American parents, Robert Louis Stevens and Helen Dorothy Oliver Stevens, who were operating a business in China. Her family returned to Seattle, WA in 1926 and later moved to Los Angeles, CA where Mary graduated from Los Angeles High School. She attended both the University of Chicago and Syracuse University. Mary left college during WWII to work at Bell Aircraft in Buffalo, NY. She later moved to Seattle to work at the Naval Air Station where she met and married Ensign Edward Rowley, a Navy Aviator. After the war ended, Mary and Ed moved to Connecticut where they resided in the Towns of Niantic, Waterford, Norwich, Hamden and Northford. Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 40 years, Edward Graham Rowley, who died on March 31, 1986 and her brother, Robert Tarrant Stevens of California. She is survived by her two daughters, Nancy Helen Campbell and her husband Gordon of Narragansett, RI and Elizabeth Rowley Sims and her husband Thomas of Atlanta, GA; her grandsons Clifford Campbell and his wife Kristin of North Attleboro, MA, and Thomas D. Sims Jr. and his wife Elizabeth of Winter Park, FL, two great grandsons and two nephews. Mary loved being a year round resident of Crescent Beach. In the summers, she enjoyed swimming in the late afternoon, sitting on her porch and visiting with neighbors. She maintained an active lifestyle well into her 80’s, participating in exercise and yoga classes at the East Lyme Community Center. She collected post cards and articles about town history. Mary also enjoyed using her computer to email her daughters and to explore cultural interests. She had a talent for designing and sewing dresses including Nancy’s wedding gown and Liz’s graduation dresses. Mary enjoyed traveling and took a number of trips in the US, and also traveled in Europe and the Caribbean. She was happiest at her home in Crescent Beach being with her family and neighbors. The family thanks the staffs at VNS Home Health Services of Narragansett, Brightview Assisted Living Facility and South Kingstown Nursing and Rehab Facility for their kind and compassionate care during Mary’s later years. A memorial service will be held in Connecticut at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary’s memory to East Lyme Historical Society: P. O. Box 112, East Lyme, CT 06333 or The American Diabetes Association. 2080 Silas Deane Highway, 2nd Floor, Rocky Hill, CT 06067.