Mary E. Bodine

Mary Esther Bodine, age 87, of Bonita Springs, Florida, found her eternal peace with Jesus on December 16th, 2019, while surrounded by her loving family at her home. She was born April 27th, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois, to the late Napoleon and Mary Rose (Hanily) LaTinis – a Belgian-born coalminer-turned-Chicago police officer and an Irish nanny. She grew up in the city with her sister Joan, who survives her. A devout Roman Catholic who was graduated from an all-girls’ high school, Mary attended Purdue University until she married Edward Bodine of Michigan City, Indiana, in 1951 – the man she knew would be her husband the first time she saw him. Edward’s work as a research Fellow at Battelle Memorial Institute took the couple to Powell, Ohio, where they lived until his untimely death in 1971. Widowed at age 38 with nine children, all of whom survive her, Mary has led an extraordinary life, exemplary of courage and fortitude. She was a woman who truly felt the pain of others, but hid her own. Her unselfishness was rivaled only by the kindness of her demeanor. She took in foster kids and would have taken in the world if she could. Years of her life were devoted to the care of her aging mother in Bonita Springs, until her mother’s passing in 2001. Traveling often in her latter years among the homes of her children, Mary’s everyday persona embodied humility and exuded sweetness – traits that were felt by every soul ever blessed to be touched by her life. In the years before her passing, she was able to visit Ireland with her daughters, as well as England, Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands. Her extended family joined her in Florida in 2017 for her 85th birthday, a time she described as one of the happiest of her life. She is survived by her nine children – Michael (Sonnie), Brian (Shirley-Ann), Mark (Alice), Christopher (Lori), Nejla (Gregg), Rebecca (John), Edward (Lynn), Bret (Lynn), and Robert David (Inga); and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband, brother Richard, and grandson Caleb. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, December 27th, 2019 at 2:30 PM at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church, 28300 Beaumont Rd., Bonita Springs, FL 34134 to coincide with what would be Mary and Edward’s 68th wedding anniversary. She will be laid to rest in Naples Memorial Gardens with her late husband and parents. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home.

Mary E. Bodine

April 27, 1932 - December 16, 2019