Mary Dondero
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March 16, 1894
Mary Dondero | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire | |
| In office 1945–1947 | |
| Preceded by | Charles M. Dale |
| Succeeded by | Cecil M. Neal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mary Ellen Carey March 16, 1894 Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1960 (aged 66) Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
|
| Children | 4, including Eileen Foley |
Mary Ellen Carey Dondero (March 16, 1894 – March 24, 1960) was an American politician who was the mayor of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from 1945 to 1947. She was the state's first woman mayor.
Dondero was the second of eight children born to Dennis and Nora (Leary) Carey, natives of Portsmouth who were the children of Irish immigrants.[1] Her father died in an accident at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard when she was four months old, and her mother took up took in laundry to support the family. She dropped out of school during eighth grade to work for her mother.[2] Nora Carey eventually remarried and had six children with her second husband, John Wade of Nova Scotia.[1]
On July 4, 1913, Mary Ellen Carey married Charles Anthony Dondero.[1] They had four daughters, and the family lived above her father-in-law's business – Dondero's Fruit and Ice Cream.[2] During World War I, she was active in the Red Cross and in Liberty Loan drives.[1] She won the 1918 Miss Portsmouth pageant and was later crowned Miss American Legion.[3] Charles Dondero died in February 1944.[4]