Mary B. King, a devoted mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away at the age of 95 on Monday, November 17 at her home in Heritage Village in Southbury with two of her children by her side. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., she was the youngest daughter of the late Eugene Barden and Catherine McGrath Barden. After graduation from Alexander Hamilton High School in Elmsford, New York, she went on to work as a model and legal secretary in Westchester County. A long-time resident of Rye, New York, she moved to New York City in 1976, where she spent many happy years with a number of her children living close by. While living in NYC, she volunteered at UNICEF and taught English as a second language in the NYC Public School System. She moved to Heritage Village in 1995, where she served as a volunteer at the Southbury Training School Thrift Shop and The Women's Exchange.

Mary is survived by five children, Thomas A. May of Southbury, CT, Nancy May Tandy and her husband Spencer of Fairfield, CT, Michael E. May of Fairfield, CT, Kay King and her husband Charles Dale of Washington, DC and Lori King and her partner Daniel Briggs of Armonk, N.Y. She had 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren who knew her as Bardie. She was pre-deceased by her son James S. May, Jr. and her daughter Catherine Elizabeth. Mary's first marriage to James S. May ended 1959, and her second husband of 30 years, Norman E. King, passed away in 1990.

Forged in a generation of women who often shirked the spotlight or held their tongues, Bardie was witty, wily, outspoken, and in truth, an impossible flirt. In her heart and soul she considered herself a mother first and often referred to herself as "The Mother," even as her children became grandparents themselves. This was her raison d'é