Mary Antoinette Del Tondo

Mary Antoinette Del Tondo, 87, born on March 3, 1930 in New Jersey, passed away on November 16, 2017. Mary has missed her husband Tony -- her love since they were in grade-school together -- ever since he passed in 2005. Now they are rejoined, leaving behind Mary's two sons - Glenn and Douglas, her daughters-in-law, Maria and Laura, and her grandchildren, Peter and Robert, as well as her two great grand daughters by Peter and Kelli. Also Mary was aunt to Joannie and Jeannie, Joey and Darlene, as well as Lisa who was also her God-daughter. Mary's brother Joe predeceased her but she is survived by her sister Joan.

Mary and Tony were the smartest kids in the same grammar school class in The Bronx. When they were 8 years old, they played checkers and Chinese checkers, and victories went back and forth. But then Mary and Tony lost touch when Mary moved away. Later, they attended the same school again when they both went to Evander Childs High School on Gun Hill Road. Mary was a beautiful and smart young girl, and Tony knew it, and did not let her get away this time.

Right after Mary married Tony she had a big challenge. Her husband volunteered to fight in Korea. This led them to temporarily live in San Diego and Laguna Beach while Tony trained at Camp Pendleton in California. Mary followed and gave support to one dedicated Marine who we now call "Pa." After the war, they returned to The Bronx, but with always a joint dream to find a way back to California to live. While Tony took several odd jobs at the same time, eventually Mary took a job at no pay for a good guy named Ed Libov -- a neighbor of her sister Joan. Ed eventually started paying her, as he successfully invented the field of Media Buying Services.

At first, Mary worked on a single metal typewriter stand in an office the size of a small closet. Mr. Libov's desk was the size of his office, meaning there was only room for one guest chair. Immediately outside their door was an elevator that could be heard from the office every time it opened. But a decade later, Mary was the sole Executive Secretary still to Mr. Libov who now ran a company with over 140 employees. Ed Libov & Associates (ELA) had offices in NY in the Citicorp Building -- with 2 floors, and in Chicago, LA, as well as London. Mary had her own secretary and her secretary had a secretary. Mary's last office was bigger than the entire ELA office when she started on the metal typing stand. Then tragedy struck. Ed died while swimming in a pool. Mom stayed on a few years working for Rhona Libov, Ed's widow, as the new owner, but eventually Rhona sold to a mega-firm, and Mary retired.

But now Mary and Tony fulfilled their dream, and moved to California. Doug was there, and soon Glenn and his family joined them. Tony did not get as many years as he hoped but they were all good ones except the last one. He lived on a golf course with a great sunset view over a lake. This was Mary's reward too -- to share fun and laughter in retirement, in sunny southern California after years in the cold and snow of New York. Their dreams came true for them. After Tony passed, Mary just had to wait a little longer -- well, actually 12 long years -- to be reunited to her first love -- just as happened when she moved away from her grammar school only to find, as "luck" would have it that Tony too was at Evander Childs High School. Tony was waiting for her back then, just as he was waiting for her this past November 16th.

Finally, Tony told Mary when he passed, "I will see you in the stars." Marines always keep their promises, so you can be sure Tony and Mary are on a better shore today, likely playing checkers, and swapping victories like they did as kids.

INTERNMENT FACTS: Mary's urn on Monday, the 27th, will be placed right next to Tony's at the Cathedral City location of Forest Lawn.