Mary Palu

It is with great sadness that the family of Mary Ann (Casavecchia) Palu announce her passing on Sunday, January 31, 2021, at the age of 82 after a brief battle with cancer.

Mary Ann was born November 19, 1938 to  Samuel and Agnes (Tyma) Casavecchia in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1960, Mary Ann graduated from St. Francis Nursing School in Grand Island NE. After which she began a long and varied nursing career in many different environments - emergency rooms, psychological hospitals, doctor’s offices, and nursing homes until she retired in the early 1990’s. And, she was quick to tell you that even though she was ‘retired’ she was still a nurse and always would be.

Mary Ann met the love of her life, Ernest “Ernie” Palu, in Grand Island, NE, while still in nursing school when he was on leave from the Air Force.  They married on July 1, 1961.  Mary Ann and Ernie were married for over 50 years before Ernie passed in 2012. They lived in several states before settling in Waco, TX in 1971 where they raised their three children. They were members of St. Louis Catholic Church in Waco from 1972 until leaving in 2011 when they relocated to San Antonio to be closer to family for support when Ernie became gravely ill. After Ernie’s passing, Mary Ann stayed in San Antonio to be surrounded by family including four of her grandchildren. Until the pandemic began, she was an active member of St. Brigid Catholic Church where she attended mass every Sunday. In the last few years, she also enjoyed spending time and making friends at the Doris Griffin Senior Center..

She loved being married, her family, nursing, dancing (to any kind of music),making new friends, and reading the Wall Street Journal which she’d use to start conversations with anyone she met.. The pride and joy of her life were her seven grandchildren. She cherished spending time with all of them. When they were young, she was the grandmother to get down to their level and play on the floor or to go out and climb trees. During their school years she attended any school function she was invited to, celebrating their successes or enjoying their activities and performances. And, after they became adults or near adults, she always liked to visit with them to learn about what was going on in their lives and to share with them experiences of her past.

Mary Ann leaves her son, Craig Palu and wife Ann (McKinney, TX); her son Kevin Palu (Waco, TX); her daughter, Karen Rubalcava (San Antonio, TX); her seven grandchildren; Travis Palu, Michaela (Palu) Padalecki, Christina Rubalcava, Megan Palu, Victoria Rubalcava, Dalton Palu, and Kelsey Palu; and two great grandchildren, Imelda and Isabella Palu.  She also leaves her sisters, Joyce Popham (Mart, TX),  Angie Casavecchia (Joplin, MO), and Emily DeFranco (Cincinnati, OH).

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, her son-in-law (John Rubalcava, 2012), and her brother (Samuel Casavecchia, January 2021).

Visitation will be 1:00-3:00 p.m., Friday February 5, in the mausoleum at Waco Memorial Park, 6623 South I-35, Waco, TX. The service is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to Meals on Wheels San Antonio  (https://www.mowsatx.org/donate ) or to the Williams Syndrome Association (https://williams-syndrome.org/donate).