Mary Margaret Trivilino

Mary Margaret (Morley) Trivilino, of Niskayuna, NY, passed away on April 25, 2024, at age 77 from cancer. She died peacefully, surrounded by her husband and children.

Mary was born on January 24,1947, to Howard and Barbara (Denny) Morley in Ogdensburg, NY, where she grew up with her five siblings. After completing high school in Ogdensburg, despite being told it was a waste of both time and money to get a higher education, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary English Education from the State University College at Plattsburgh in 1968. This set in motion an incredible example of a lifelong love of learning that she shared with her children and grandchildren. Mary returned to school to earn a Master of Science degree in Library Sciences from Syracuse University in 1981.

Mary met her future husband, Peter, at the wedding of their siblings. They were married on December 23, 1967, in Ogdensburg, NY. They went on to have three daughters, Francesca, Angela, and Virginia, and lived in Watertown, NY, Middletown, NY, and settled in Niskayuna, NY, in 1983.

Mary worked as a school librarian in Middletown, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Niskayuna schools. She retired from Craig Elementary School in Niskayuna in 2002. Mary was well known for her elaborate reading programs designed to instill a love of reading in the many students she taught over the years.

After retiring from Niskayuna CSD, she worked for the Schenectady County Public Library System as a children's librarian and then as a longtime volunteer for the Friends of Schenectady County Public Library. In her retirement, she and Peter traveled to China, Italy, and across the United States together. They also tended to her magnificent flower beds and proudly set up two Little Free Libraries in their front yard to provide books to the neighborhood. She spent a great deal of time with her eight beloved grandchildren teaching them how to bake and do crafts, reading with them, watching them swim, and attending their activities and events.

She leaves behind an amazing legacy of treating everyone with kindness and acceptance. Mary made it a mission to learn what each family member and neighbor enjoyed reading and would provide them with a special book (or ten) during every visit. She never let someone leave her home without a meal or a special treat. She was a firm believer that a cookie might just make you feel a little better.

She is survived by her husband and love of her life of 56 years, Peter Trivilino, their three daughters: Francesca (Mike) Durand of Rexford, NY; Angela (Nick) Petitti of Grafton, NY; and Virginia (Aaron) Quinby of Salem, NH; and eight cherished grandchildren: Madeleine and Abigail Durand, Sophia (Ash) Snow, Joseph, Rose, and Victor Petitti, Grace and Jack Quinby, her sisters Carolyn Tavernier, Sheila (Bob) Mallette, and brothers Greg Morley and Mike (Angie) Morley, sisters-in-law, Mary Hatch, Anne Morley, Martha Troyer, Joan Trivilino, and Carol Olmsted, and brothers-in-law Philip (Brenda), Joseph (Kim), and Herm (Donna) Trivilino and 38 nieces and nephews.

Mary was predeceased by her parents Howard and Barbara (Denny) Morley, her parents-in-law Herman and Rose (Demeter) Trivilino, her brother Tom Morley, and her brothers-in-law, Dick Tavernier, Bob Hatch, Robert Troyer, and Rick Boismenu, and sisters-in-law Glory Morley and Jean Demeter.

Services will be privately held. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Schenectady County Public Library's gift and memorial fund https://www.scpl.org/about_us/support.html