Margaret Mary Rooney (nee McWeeney)

Went home to our Lord at the age of 90 on May 20, 2024. She was born on April 1, 1934 (Easter Sunday) in County Leitrim, Ireland, to James Francis and Catherine Veronica (nee Guckian) McWeeney. Margaret was raised on a farm, and immigrated to America in March of 1954.

On October 24, 1964, Margaret married John T. Rooney at the Church of the Holy Innocence in Brooklyn, NY, and raised three sons. For more than 30 years, Margaret worked the night shift at New York Telephone Company and, after her retirement, volunteered for many years at Mount Carmel Church in Middletown, NY. She also enjoyed spending time at The Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and attending adoration at St. Joseph's Church, which led her to become a Third Order Lay Carmelite.

Margaret, with her thick brogue and funny Irish expressions, was a woman who spoke her mind. She didn't sweat the small stuff and often said, "Don't bother your head." For Margaret, tea time was all the time. She found joy in making rosary beads by the hundreds that were shipped to India, word search puzzles, and praying for anyone who needed it. She enjoyed spending time with her family and got a kick out of her grandchildren.

In the last three years, Margaret moved to Joliet, Illinois, to live with her oldest son, Tom, and his wife Sarah, and their family. Two and a half of those years, she received in-home hospice care, and it was there in the comfort of their home that she passed peacefully. Margaret was a devout Catholic who always said the Blessed Mother would take care of her during life's challenges. So, it was fitting she died on the feast of Mary, Mother of the Church.

She is preceded in death by her husband John T. Rooney and survived by her sons Thomas Rooney (Sarah), James Rooney (Donna), and John Rooney (Carine), plus her six grandchildren Ryan, Lea, Katie, Sophie, Anne, and Owen. Margaret also leaves behind her devoted sister Rita McWeeney of Carrick-on-Shannon, her brother James McWeeney and sister-in-law Eileen, and many nieces and nephews who all reside in Ireland.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 2nd, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Applebee-McPhillips Funeral Home, 130 Highland Ave., Middletown, NY 10940. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, June 3rd at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 90 Euclid Ave., Middletown, NY. Burial will follow at Rose Hills Memorial Park, Putnam Valley, N.Y.

The family is deeply grateful for your love and support and kindly requests that in lieu of flowers, any contributions be made to The National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Middletown, NY https://www.ourladyofmtcarmelshrine.com or Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, NY https://www.rosaryhillhome.org/ contact.html.