In Memory of Mary Moore

Mary Moore, born on May 9th, 1934, passed away on April 20th, 2023, at the age of 88 in Sag Harbor, New York. Mary grew up in Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey in a household of women with her sister Jean, mother and grandmother , aunt and cousin Jane. She became a Registered Nurse graduating from St. Vincent’s Hospital Nursing School in 1955. Mary married Matthew J. Ferguson, M.D. and raised a family of five boys and one girl in Greenwich Village. She was an active, respected and outspoken member of her “Village” community and served on numerous school, charity, and church boards and committees. Mary restored the Ferguson family brownstone , built-in 1841, where she raised her six children and welcomed the many families and friends who touched her own large family, including at an annual black-tie gathering on Christmas Eve.

In 1982, Mary founded the very successful MMF Nursing agency and proved to be an astute businesswoman.  Mary was respected by the nurses she represented and cared about. Mary moved to Sag Harbor, NY in 1990. There she lovingly restored a 19th Century Whaling Captain’s home and occasionally ran a bed and breakfast – “without the breakfast” she would say. Her many friends, old and new, and her family have gathered at her home these past three decades. Mary supported and housed the actors and stagehands of Sag Harbor’s Bay Street Theatre, and she was a tour guide at the Sag Harbor Whaling & Historical Museum. She met her second husband, Charlie Lulay, at the East Hampton Historical Society, where he often dressed as a “rebel” soldier reenacting events from the Revolutionary War period.

Mary is survived by her children Matthew, Terence, Marykate, Andrew, and Timothy, eleven grandchildren, several daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law, and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Jean Kearney, three nieces and two nephews, and her cousin Jane Ford. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Lulay, son Michael John and his wife Theresa Renz, and first husband, Matthew J. Ferguson, MD.

Mary enjoyed collecting antiques and art, entertaining, oil painting, and restoring and decorating old homes. She worshipped at St. Joseph’s, St. Vincent’s Chapel and St Francis Xavier in Greenwich Village, and Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor. She is known by her vast network of friends to have frequented many other churches in the Hamptons. Her first passion was helping and guiding others who needed a little extra love in life. This she did selflessly.

A Catholic Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor, New York, on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. An earlier service to celebrate Mary’s life will be held at the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York City on May17th, 2023 at 4:30 pm.

Mary is survived by her children Matthew, Terence, Marykate, Andrew, and Timothy, eleven grandchildren, several daughters-in-law, and sons-in-law, and two great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Jean Kearney, three nieces and two nephews, and her cousin Jane Ford. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Lulay, son Michael John and his wife Theresa Renz, and first husband, Matthew J. Ferguson, MD.

Mary enjoyed collecting antiques and art, entertaining, oil painting, and restoring and decorating old homes. She worshipped at St. Joseph’s, St. Vincent’s Chapel and St Francis Xavier in Greenwich Village, and Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor. She is known by her vast network of friends to have frequented many other churches in the Hamptons. Her first passion was helping and guiding others who needed a little extra love in life. This she did selflessly.

A Catholic Funeral Mass will be held at Saint Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor, New York, on Saturday, June 24th, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. An earlier service to celebrate Mary’s life will be held at the Church of St. Francis Xavier in New York City on May 17th, 2023 at 4:30 pm.