Mary Louise Barnes

Mary Louise Barnes (Parisse) formerly of Summerville, South Carolina and Sharon Pennsylvania and the wife of the late Thomas Marshall Barnes, Sr., passed away peacefully on April 24, 2022 at the age of 79 in Annandale, Virginia with her two children by her side.

Born December 13, 1942, she was the daughter of the late Anthony D. and Dora (Raffaeli) Parisse of Sharon, Pennsylvania.  Mary and her sister, Margaret (Parisse) Viccaro grew up on Service Avenue and attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School and continued to graduate from Sharon High School of the class of 1960.  After high school, Mary attended the University of Pittsburgh, School of Pharmacy where she was a trailblazer during a time when there were few women in the profession.  She graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1965.  Pharmacy was her passion and she often worked alongside her father, Anthony Parisse, at the Anchor-Rexall Pharmacy on East State Street in downtown Sharon before she married Thomas Barnes, Sr in 1967.  Mary continued to practice pharmacy and discovered the love of teaching at the Albany College of Pharmacy.  Mary, her husband Tom, and two children, lived an exciting life in places such as Michigan, New York, England and South Carolina.  Some of her favorite memories were the family’s travels through Europe where she embraced its history and culture.

Mary battled Multiple Sclerosis for most of her adult life, but she never allowed it to define her nor slow her down.  She approached her M.S. with grace, strength and a sense of humor.  Mary continued to live life to its fullest and was always found reading or doing puzzles that would keep her mind sharp.  She often would help others with M.S. understand how to navigate the disease, and she courageously participated in the early trials of breakthrough M.S. medication in the 1990s.

Mary Louise is survived by her daughter, Katharine Marie Boehm and her husband, Donald; her son, Thomas Marshall Barnes, Jr. and his wife Ginevra; her four grandchildren, Rosina, Liliana, Samuel and Thomas, III.; her sister, Margaret Viccaro (Parisse) and her husband, Patrick.  She also is survived by her sisters-in-law, Sally Barnes and Judy Rice of Hermitage PA, nieces and nephews and many Raffaeli cousins.

Visitation will be held at the Sample-O’Donnell Funeral Home 555 East State Street, Sharon on Friday May 6, 2022 from 5-7:00PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 AM Saturday in St. Joseph’s Church, 79 Case Ave., Sharon, with Rev. Thomas Whitman, pastor, as celebrant.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the M.S. Society in her honor.

To sign the guestbook for Mary’s family, please visit www.sampleodonnellfh.com.