Marion W. "Mary Ann" Wharton Healy, 99, of Zelienople, formerly of Bradford in McKean County, died Sunday at Passavant Health and Retirement Center, Zelienople.

Born April 9, 1905, at the Wharton Family Estate in Bradford, she was the first child of Helen Marie O'Mara Wharton and Thomas Henry Wharton.

She attended schools in Bradford and Ellicottville Middle School in Ellicottville, N.Y., where she skipped seventh grade. She returned to Bradford High school and graduated in 1923.

On Feb. 17, 1931, she married Gordon Edwin Healy of Kane, McKean County, at St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in Bradford with the Right Rev. Monsignor David Hickey officiating.

After high school, she was a secretary for Vic Moran copy service and Slone & Zook Oil and then was office manager at Parris Cleaners and Dryers. She next moved to Hornell, N.Y., where she and her husband managed Dagon Funeral Home. They then lived in Buffalo, N.Y., for six years and returned to Bradford in 1937. In 1937, they open Healy Funeral Home, the first residential funeral home in McKean County at 372 E. Main St., Bradford. In 1951, after the sudden death of Gordon, Mrs. Healy continued to operate the funeral home until it was sold in 1963 to Francis D. Cahill. During this time, she was a member of the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association and the Tri-County Funeral Directors Association of McKean, Potter and Elk counties and was secretary for the association from 1961 to 1962.

She was a former member of St. Bernard Catholic Church and a founding member of St. Francis of Assisi Parish, which used Healy Funeral Home for daily Mass in it's beginning. She was a member and served as president of the Catholic Women's Club from 1954 to 1956, a member of St. Francis Altar Rosary Society, member and past president of the Rotary Ann's, member and past president of the Columbian Ladies Knights of Columbus 403 and served many years as the Republican Committeewomen of the sixth ward, second precinct in East Bradford.

In 1984, she moved to Zelienople to be near her daughter, Kathleen M. (Francis J.) Ligday Jr. of Harmony, who survives.

In Zelienople, she was a member of St. Gregory Church and the Saint Ann Guild.

In addition to her daughter and son-in-law she is survived by two grandsons, Francis J. Ligday III and his wife, Geni, of Germany and Stephen E. Ligday of Pittsburgh; a great-grandson, Nicholas Stephen Ligday; a sister, Mrs. J. William (Gene Wharton) Geise of Chapel Ridge; and a sister-in-law, Mrs. John (Marlin Titus) Healy of Colorado Springs, Colo. A number of nieces and nephews survive including, Mrs. John M. Danielson of Duke Center; and a cousin and godson Msgr. Richard J. Stack of Erie.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by a brother, Thomas Wharton; sisters Beth Milford (Albert F.), Winifred Keegan (James J.) Helen Benning (William) and Beatrice Wharton.

HEALY - Friends of Marion W. "Mary Ann" Wharton Healy, who died Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004, will be received from 11 to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, at HOLLONBECK-CAHILL FUNERAL HOMES, East Main Street, Bradford. A prayer service will be held at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. A Mass of Christian burial will follow at 1 p.m. at St. Bernard Church with the Rev. Leo Gallina, church pastor, and Msgr. Richard Stack, pastor of St Paul Church of Erie, co-celebrating. Committal services and burial will follow at St. Bernard Cemetery.In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Passavant Health Center, 401 S. Main St., Zelienople, PA 16063; or Historic Harmony Inc., P.O. Box 524, Harmony, PA 16037.