Mary Anne Castranio

Mary Anne Castranio passed away suddenly on October 12, 2018. She is survived by her daughter, Amy; her brothers, John (Judee) and David (Lisa) of Cary, NC and her sister, Connie Mooney (Mike) of Raleigh, NC. Mary Anne was also a loving aunt to her nieces and nephews: Leah Mooney, Max Mooney, Brittainy Smith (Cody Addington); Erin Castranio, John James II Castranio (Megan), Craig Gillooly, Ryan Gillooly (Allie) and Chelsea Dunn (Patrick). Her family was in her heart and she extended this same devotion to her best friends in Kennesaw, GA, Tina and David Levitt and their sons, Jonathan (Amber), Adam (Josee), and Daniel. She was predeceased by our parents, John James and Patricia Anne Castranio of Cary, NC.

Mary Anne was raised in Cary, NC and moved to the Atlanta area in 1979. The only native North Carolinian of our family, she was born in 1957 at the US Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune, NC. She had the special ability to make friends, introduce them to other friends and keep all in her lifelong circle. Settling in Kennesaw, GA near her college friend, Mary Anne attracted many people in her 39 years in Georgia. She also made sure she kept her connection to North Carolina with her family and countless friends from the Cary community and she never missed a Christmas in Cary. Aside from spending time with her family and many friends, she loved the beach, especially Topsail Island, reading, shopping, playing piano and crafting. Of utmost importance, her greatest accomplishment was raising her beautiful daughter, Amy, a student at Kennesaw State University. A strong, loving relationship brought Amy into the hearts of her family and friends, but most of all into Mary Anne’s heart.

Mary Anne was a 1975 graduate of Cary High School and a member of the band community. A proud UNC Tarheel basketball fan, she was a 1979 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mary Anne also earned two Masters Degrees from Georgia State University and Southern Polytechnic/Kennesaw State University. 

Her contributions to the community and the Catholic Church are immeasurable. She served as youth leader for St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill, NC and Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church in Atlanta, GA. Mary Anne was passionate about music and giving back to others. She was an active member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marietta, GA where she played piano for 20 years for their weekly mass. She was the Executive Editor of The Georgia Bulletin, the newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. Previous to this role, Mary Anne had a successful career as a technical writer for IBM's Information Development team, technical writer for MAPICS, Inc., and editor for the CDC where she worked on the Emerging Infectious Disease Journal. Most recently, Mary Anne was a Board Member for the Catholic Press Association of the U.S. and Canada serving as Vice President and Southern Regional Representative.

The family will hold a private burial. There will be a memorial mass on Saturday, November 3, 2018 at noon held at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Marietta, GA. There will also be a memorial held in Cary, NC at a later date. The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to either a private education fund for Amy Castraniohttps://paypal.me/CastranioEDUfund  or to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home for cancer patients http://bit.ly/MaryAnneMemorial

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