Retired Wenham Postmaster Was 'Loved by the Community'

As Wenham postmaster for 10 years, Mary Ring is remembered for her selfless, helpful attitude.

Ring died on Tuesday night, succumbing to cancer after a 2-1/2 year battle.

“She’s going to be missed by almost everyone in this town,” said Carleen Robidoux, the officer-in-charge at the who took over after Ring’s retirement in 2010.

Before becoming postmaster on Nov. 18, 2000, Ring worked as a clerk under Postmaster Don Luxton.

“Mary was indeed a kind and generous person and will be missed by us all,” Luxton said in an e-mail to family and friends on Wednesday.

Ring also worked as a postal carrier in Merrimac and Topsfield before coming to Wenham.

Even after retirement, “she was in and out of here all the time,” Robidoux said while recalling Ring at the Wenham post office on Wednesday.

Chris Mitchell, a clerk at the Wenham post office, said she knew Ring for about 10 years and said she was very helpful when Mitchell was in charge of another nearby post office.

“She was a very good teacher,” Mitchell said. “She was very loved by the community.”

Beyond her cheerful smile and helpful attitude, Ring was also known for her Ipswich Clam Chowder.

Flags in Wenham were lowered to half-staff on Wednesday in Ring’s memory.

On Facebook on Wednesday, Carol Kelly recalled Ring as a “wonderful woman, always with a smile.” Ann Schlecht said she “loved her responses to my kid's Santa letters - they were priceless as was she.”

“Mary's smile welcomed many into the post office,” said Michelle Bailey. “She delighted in having the children in to learn about their community or to get a lollipop.”

And kids were important to Ring.

“She was a great boss,” Robidoux said, adding that Ring was a generous, good person. “And she loved kids.”

Ring was . Originally, her co-workers and others had planned to rent a hall and put on a retirement party.

“She said absolutely not,” Robidoux said.

Instead, they took their annual Customer Appreciation Day and turned it into a celebration of Ring’s 10 years of service as postmaster.

Ring will be remembered through a scholarship in her name that will go to a high school senior in Lynn, her hometown, to a student going in to a “helping profession,” such as nursing or social work.

The scholarship winner will be someone “who most embodies Mary’s passion and commitment in her lifetime of service to others.”

There are preaddressed envelopes at the counter at the Wenham post office to send donations to the scholarship fund, which is being hosted by Eastern Bank, 81 Bridge St. in Beverly or can be sent to Mary Ring Caregiver Scholarship, P.O. Box 375, Wenham, MA 01984.

There will be a “Celebration of Life" for Ring on June 17 from 1-5 p.m. at the on Route 1 Northbound in Danvers.