Mary V. (Boulos) Cullinan

SOUTH PORTLAND – Mary V. (Boulos) Cullinan, 104, passed away on May 2, 2025.  Mary was born in Portland, Maine on April 22, 1921, to Edward S. Boulos and Mary (Kilmartin) Boulos. 

Mary attended St. Joseph’s Grammar School and graduated from Deering High School in 1939.  She subsequently worked as a bookkeeper for the E.S. Boulos Co. in Portland. 

In 1947, she married Robert V. “Bob” Cullinan in Portland, after which they moved to and resided in Bangor for several years.  They returned to the Portland area and in 1952 moved into their new home on Scamman Street in South Portland, where Mary remained until her death. 

Mary and Bob were parents to five children: Brian E., Kevin A., Peter V., Paul R., and Margaret M. The family members were active communicants of Holy Cross Church, and the children all attended Holy Cross School. 

Mary was active all her life and enjoyed playing golf and tennis as well as skiing at Pleasant Mountain.  She also enjoyed many summer days at Higgins or Jordan’s Beach with her children, and often her sisters-in-law Eileen Cullinan and Connie Scully.  While Mary didn’t particularly like to cook, the family was always delighted when she prepared her spectacular whoopie pies or delicious Lobster Newburg. 

Later in life, she joined the Purpooduck Club, where she was an enthusiastic participant in the ladies group and continued golfing into her late 90’s. She also served on the advisory board to the South Portland Public Library for a number of years.  Mary also enjoyed playing bridge with her sister Dottie and various groups around Portland and Vero Beach, Fla. 

After Bob’s death in 1985, Mary began to spend several weeks in the winter with her sisters Betty Wilson and Dottie Boulos in Palm Desert, Calif. where Betty and her husband Lyle wintered.  When Lyle and Betty changed venue to Vero Beach, Mary began to rent a place of her own there for each winter.  There she dove into all sorts of activities including playing golf, attending plays and concerts at the Riverside Theater and the local high school.  She also became involved in Holy Cross Catholic Church where she met numerous other snowbirds. 

Mary’s nickname, Sis, reflected the most enduring relationship of her life, the intensely close bond she shared with her sisters.  Perhaps because they lost their mother in their youth, the three sisters seemed almost as one, taking as much pleasure and pride in each other’s lives and families as they did their own.  Mary could—and would, at the drop of a hat—recount in detail Dottie’s foreign-service postings or Betty’s children’s accomplishments.  Her little sisters’ happiness was also her own. 

Mary was predeceased by her parents and step-mother Anna Silke Boulos; her husband Bob; son Brian;, granddaughter Katherine S. Cullinan;, brothers Joseph S. Boulos, James G. Boulos, and Edward S. Boulos Jr., and sister Elizabeth (Betty) Boulos Wilson. 

She is survived by her sons Kevin (Dorothy Kegel), Peter (Amy Weickert), and Paul (Mitzi Burby), daughter Margaret (Andre Rancourt); grandchildren Abigail (David Diaz), Michael (Elizabeth Alexander), Elizabeth, Meril (Steve Shea), Avery (Andrew Phillips), Brian (Sara D’Onofrio); and great grandsons Theodore, Henry, and Otis.  She is also survived by her sister Dorothy A. Boulos; and numerous nieces and nephews.   

The family wants to express its utmost gratitude to the numerous health professionals and caregivers who attended to Mum over the last few days of her life.  In particular, we want to thank the staff at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough for their compassionate and tender care and for enabling her to pass her last days comfortably and in peace. 

Visiting Hours will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 16 at the Conroy Tully Walker Funeral Home of South Portland, 1024 Broadway, followed by a 9:30 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, May 17th at Holy Cross Church, 124 Cottage Road, South Portland. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery, 1461 Broadway, South Portland.

To view Mary’s Memorial Page or to share an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com.  

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be directed to the:

South Portland Food Pantry or the:

St. Jude’s Research Hospital