Mary Theresa Seebode passed away unexpectedly on August 10, 2023 at Newport Hospital surrounded by her family and many of the nurses she had worked with there for years. Mary was born on December 10, 1965 and grew up in Cedar Grove, NJ. She spent her summers with her family on Block Island, RI and loved the area so much she attended college at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI and made Newport her home for the next 40 years. After graduating in 1993 from the St. Joseph School of Nursing in Providence, RI, Mary devoted the rest of her life caring for patients and helping train and support new nurses.
As a child, Mary enjoyed figure skating, horseback riding, and basketball, as well as skiing and fishing with her family. Mary was famous around Newport for her annual Halloween party and her elaborate holiday decorations. Each June she spent time at her “favorite place in the world” – her family home on Block Island – where she would relax in the cross breezes of her family house and enjoy the island community by visiting with friends and business, including eating ice cream at the Ice Cream Shoppe, where she had worked as a teenager. Each summer in Newport, Mary planted a garden with her friend Mary Conner and shared her bounty of cucumbers, zucchini, squash, eggplant, and tomatoes with everyone who stopped by.
Mary leaves behind her loving husband of 32 years, Donald Bobba, who nicknamed her “Blondie” the day they met and never called her by any other name. She also leaves behind her stepson Corey Bobba and his wife, Carrie O’Brien from Arlington, VA; her brother Joseph Seebode and his wife Joanne (Lystash) Seebode from Clark, NJ; her sister Dr. Elizabeth Seebode-Zazzali and her husband Dr. Peter Zazzali from Glen Ridge, NJ; her brother Christopher J. Seebode and his wife Tracey (Bergwall) Seebode from Basking Ridge, NJ; and her brother David Seebode from Nutley, NJ. Mary also leaves behind her beloved niece and nephews, Joseph Seebode, John Paul Seebode, Peter Joseph Zazzali, Jonathan Zazzali, Julia Mary Seebode, and Christopher Seebode.
Mary was predeceased by her parents Dr. Joseph J. Seebode and Dr. Anna M. Seebode and her Aunt Julia Dunne.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate Mary’s life on Thursday, August 24, 2023 from 3:00pm – 5:00pm at the O’Neill-Hayes Funeral Home, 465 Spring Street, Newport, RI. A reception will follow at the Knights of Columbus, 7 Valley Rd, Middletown, RI.
Donations in Mary’s memory may be made to the Mary D. Fund, P.O. Box 323, Block Island, RI 02807.
