Mary Lillian Pellegrini

Mary Pellegrini, 61, of Franklin, New Hampshire and Kensington, Maryland, passed away peacefully on January 19, 2025, after an illness that she courageously and gracefully endured. Mary was born on October 20, 1963, to Charles and Elaine (Dargie) Pellegrini in Franklin. Her beautiful life was filled with love, a close-knit family, and lasting friendships. For many years, Mary lived and traveled abroad while in service to her country.
Mary was among the first students to attend Paul Smith Elementary School in Franklin, was a 1981 graduate of Bishop Brady High School in Concord, and attended LIU Post, formally the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, a private university in Brookville, New York, before joining the United States Air Force as a Russian Cryptologic Linguist in 1982. She served in the military for 21 years at Iraklion Air Station, Greece, Fort Meade in Laurel, Maryland, and Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Hawaii, with two tours of duty at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Mary’s awards over the course of her military and service career include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, and the Northrup Grumman Guardian of Freedom Award (2005 and 2006).
During her initial training at Lackland Air Force Base, Airman Pellegrini met Daniel Wilkinson, Jr. They were married and welcomed their son Daniel Michael Wilkinson III in 1985, staying together as a family for 17 years with treasured memories from life in Crete, Hawaii, and San Antonio. Mary and Dan always loved and respected each other and remained close as they raised Danny. Following a distinguished military career, Mary continued her service to her country as a private contractor specializing in communications, spending three years in Baghdad, Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Mary was admitted to the Foreign Service in 2013 and her postings included Bogota, Columbia, Lahore, Pakistan, Sydney, Australia, Karachi, Pakistan, and Vladivostok, Russia. Her treasured Siberian cat, Vlad, is named after her last post. Wherever life took her, Mary always returned home to Webster Lake, where she enjoyed happy times with family and friends.
Mary had a truly incredible life full of fun and adventures, many of which she shared with Danny and her daughter-in-law, Danielle (Dani). Together they traveled the Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest railway line in the world. Mary was stranded on a remote island during a tsunami, left at sea on a dive trip in Indonesia, and traveled New Zealand in an RV that was almost swept away by changing tides in the South Pacific. She made impossible escapes and unlikely friendships. Mary enjoyed running and rug shopping, skiing, kayaking, and hiking. She was always the first to jump to the forefront to help anyone, personally or professionally. She paused her career to be a caregiver for her brother Matthew before his premature death from ALS at age 39 and moved to Maryland after retiring from the Foreign Service to help care for her mother Elaine in her later years.
Mary was a highly accomplished quilter and writer, and an amazing, talented soul. Her quilts are as diverse as her travels, from Columbian molas to Chinese silks. Mary’s personal essays on striving to balance gratitude for her life with her battle against cancer honor the bravery and strength of women with this illness. Her travels ended in late 2024, when her treatments no longer slowed the growth of her cancer. She will continue to be loved and treasured by so many who are now heartbroken at her passing but take comfort in having been forever blessed by her presence. Truly all who knew her were charmed by her wit and intelligence and were uplifted by her unwavering kindness.
Mary leaves behind her beloved son and daughter-in-law, Daniel Wilkinson III and Danielle Hollander, her father Charles Pellegrini, her sister and brother-in-law, Martha and John Marrapese and their two children, Cameron and Colin; her brother and sister-in-law Mark Pellegrini and Ellen O’Donnell and their four children, godson Jackson, Isabel, Myles, and Chloe; her brother and sister-in-law, Miles and Shelley Pellegrini and their two children, Charles and Amelia; and her sister-in-law, Judy Albanese. Mary was predeceased by her brother, Matthew Pellegrini, and her mother, Elaine Pellegrini.
Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2025, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Thibault-Neun Funeral home, 143 Franklin St., Franklin. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, January 31, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Gabriel’s Church in Franklin. For directions for the service and to register in the family’s online guestbook, please visit wwww.neunfuneralhomes.com.
Donations in memory of Mary may be made to The Walter Reed Society, an organization that assists servicemen and women being treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) where Mary volunteered, at https://www.walterreedsociety.org/product/walter-reed-society-membership/