Obituary of Marilyn Heaney

Marilyn C. Heaney July 6, 1931 – April 13, 2021 Marilyn Conte Heaney, 89, of Bedford Village, passed away peacefully at her home on April 13, 2021 after a long illness. She was born on July 6, 1931 in Boston, MA to the late Ulderico E. and Helen (Morante) Conte. She attended Melrose High School and Radcliffe College, where she graduated cum laude in history and literature in 1952. She taught in an elementary school in Hagerstown, MD and then moved to Bedford Village in 1961. Shortly thereafter, she served as a founding member of Bedford's branch of the League of Women Voters and first vice-president of the Provisional League. She left the League when she started working, but rejoined when she retired and was on its nominating committee from 2012 to her death. In 1971, Marilyn received her master's degree in education from the Bank Street Graduate School of Education. She was immediately hired as a guidance counselor at the Fox Lane Middle School, where she worked many happy years in South and East House until her retirement in 1997. As a counselor, she loved guiding students past personal and academic challenges, and she regarded her colleagues as extended family. She embraced the inventive spirit that characterized Fox Lane and fiercely championed the "ungraded" pedagogy that promoted classes of mixed grade levels. Over the last two decades, she enjoyed acting as a member and then leader of a women's book club in the Bedford Free Library, and she was a valued contributor to a weekly Bible study group at the Bedford Presbyterian Church. Though an Eisenhower Republican in the early part of her life, Marilyn became an ardent Democrat in the early 1970s and spent many hours making phone calls before each major election on behalf of the New York State Union of Teachers. A proud member of the NYSUT, she was fervent about universal health care rights and was grateful for the support provided by her union as she bravely battled several illnesses in her final years. Despite health setbacks, she never lost her wonderful sense of humor and her fighting spirit. Her passions included dogs, Cape Cod, everything Italian, and any sports team with a connection to Boston. Marilyn was pre-deceased by her brother Richard Conte (Betty Jean Conte, surviving). She is lovingly remembered by her three children and their spouses: Mark Heaney (Tone Lindgren) of Pelham Manor, NY; Gretta Heaney (Daniel Gallagher) of Mamaroneck, NY; and Peter Heaney (Kim Cook) of State College, PA. In addition, Marilyn adored and was adored by five grandchildren: Thomas, Kristin, and Kathleen Heaney and Dana and Peter Gallagher. The family is immensely grateful to the doctors at Memorial-Sloan Kettering for adding many quality years to our time with her, and we thank Rosaleen O'Reilly as a caregiver in the last years of her life. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Bedford Free Library, PO Box 375, Bedford, NY 10506. Because of the COVID epidemic, a memorial service will be held later this summer. Arrangements have been entrusted to the Oelker-Cox & Sinatra Memorial Home. Announcements regarding the summer service will be available through the online guestbook at https://sinatraffh.com.