Mary (Fernald) Whalen

Mary Fernald Whalen, 78, of Berlin, passed away Thursday, April 11, 2024 at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain in the care and comfort of her loving family.  Mary was born in Castine, Maine, September 17, 1945. Daughter of the late Holman Fernald and Dolly Fernald (née Chamblin), Mary grew up in Coventry, CT, and later settled in Hebron to raise her children. She eventually relocated to Berlin, CT to live with family for the remainder of her life.  Mary was employed as a retail manager at TED’s Supermarket in Hebron until her retirement.  Mary fondly recalled her time in the garden department at TED’s, and the way young staff looked to her as an advice-giver and problem-solver. Alongside her enjoyment of flowers and gardening, Mary loved books and was an avid bird-watcher. She gained her interest in coin collecting and birding from her father, and frequently recounted ‘once in a lifetime’ encounters with everything from songbirds, to hummingbirds, herons, owls, and eagles to her family. Mary was particularly fond of the latter, bringing her family on eagle watch cruises. Mary was also a chronicler of family history, researching her and her late husband’s roots in Ireland. Mary was named Miss Coventry in the early 1960s. Mary was drawn to lighthouses and being near the water, and was “a foodie before it was a thing.” She told stories of snatching plums from her neighbor’s plum tree as a little girl, and of waiting with her friends until high tide to steal carrots from that same garden to wash off in the waves.  Mary “organized fundraisers… ran concessions at all the football games… planned and chaperoned field trips, and she was infamous for her baked goods and her clam chowder–everyone in the tri town area knew about [her] cooking… her fried chicken was the BEST,” said her daughter, Stacy Whalen-Kelley.  She is survived by five daughters: Sheila Deslaurier and husband Scott, Josephine F. Whalen and husband Craig Wortman, Margaret Elaine Whalen and husband Richard Widmayer, Sara S. Whalen and husband Terence Ayrton, and Stacy Whalen-Kelley and husband Eric Kelley; and five cherished grandchildren: Cameron Deslaurier, Chantel Parent, Lilli Kelley, Rory Kelley, and Candice Ayrton. She called her daughters and grandchildren her “five and five.”

Mary is also survived by her sister Joan Ballestrini; her brother Jeffrey Fernald and his wife Lenore; and several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her former husband and the father of her daughters, Michael J. Whalen; and her brother-in-law Mickey Ballestrini. 

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a memorial service and celebration of Mary’s life, Saturday, April 20, 2024 at 2:00 p.m., at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Meriden, 328 Paddock Avenue, Meriden, CT 06450. Arrangements are under the direction of the Berlin Memorial Funeral Home, 96 Main St.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the National Audubon Society in Mary’s name.  www.BerlinMemorialFuneralHome.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary (Fernald) Whalen, please visit our floral store.