Mary Louise Place

Mary Louise Place, 80, of Los Angeles, CA died July 6, 2023 after a long battle with COPD.  Mary lived in Groton, NY until 1995 when she moved to Kitty Hawk, NC, then to Lake Havasu, AZ and finally, in 2009, to Los Angeles.  

Born to J. Henry and Pearl (Stanley) Rood in Albany, NY on May 5, 1943, Mary graduated from Groton High School in 1961, later went on to earn her nursing degree from Tompkins Community College in 1980, and was a Registered Nurse, a profession she always loved, for more than 25 years in three states. 

Mary married Edward A. Halladay in 1964 and had three children before his death in 1976. She was married again to Stephen R. Place in 1984 until his death in 2003.

Mary’s life was marked with tragic loss, but she forged new paths, raised three children as a single mother, and demonstrated to them how to rely on family, hope, and imagination to deal with hardship. She was their hero.

Mary was a voracious reader, crossword puzzle whiz, and adventurer (most notably a cross-country motorcycle ride with Steve!), but most of all a kind, smart woman who fought her health battles with determination and perseverance right to the end.  

Mary is survived by her brother David Rood, children Andrew (Adi Barash) Halladay, Timothy (Rebecca) Halladay, and Jane Halladay (Scott) Goldman, grandsons Christopher (Lauren) and Mark (Chrissy) Halladay, and Henry and Elliot Goldman, two great-grandsons Oliver and Emmet Halladay and a third due this September, special in-laws Becky and Mike Scaglione, and many others.

Services will be held 1:00pm August 27,2023 at Groton Community Church. Mary and Stephen will be interred in Groton Rural Cemetery.

Contributions can be made to American Lung Association or a charity of your choice.