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Mary Anne Reilly Porto, 73, of North Haven passed away peacefully on Oct. 1 at the Connecticut Hospice, Branford, with her family by her side. She was the beloved wife of 44 years to Frank P. Porto. Mary Anne was born in New Haven on Sept. 21, 1948, and was the daughter of the late Charles and Eilleen Spellacy Reilly. She was a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy and St. Mary’s Hospital School of Nursing, receiving her R.N. as valedictorian of her class. She was also a magna cum laude graduate of Southern Connecticut State University. In 1997 she earned National Board Certification in school nursing.

Mary Anne worked at Yale New Haven Hospital for 19 years where she was a head nurse in the Pediatric Department and later was the School Nurse at Sacred Heart Academy for one year, followed by 18 years at Clintonville Elementary School, North Haven. She was a member of the Executive Board of the Association of School Nurses of Connecticut since 1997, was an active member of Delta Kappa Gamma and volunteered at the Shubert Theatre. Mary Anne was an avid reader and was a member of the Next Chapter Book and Reading Club. In 2017, Mary Anne received the School Nurse Advocate of the Year award. She enjoyed summers on her beloved Cape Cod and winters in Florida.

She was the mother of Kathleen (Edward) Drechsler of Cheshire and Robert (Janice Lewis) Porto of Falmouth, Massachusetts, grandmother of Leah Rose and Emily Claire Lewis Porto, and sister of Elaine (Timothy) Mahin, Robert (Celia) Reilly, John Reilly, and the late Kathleen Reilly.

The visiting hours will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6, at The Havens Family, North Haven Funeral Home, 36 Washington Avenue. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7, in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Hamden. (Masks strictly required for all indoor services.) Interment will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hamden. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Association of School Nurses of CT, 101 Oak Street, Hartford, CT 06106, For her online obituary, please visit www.northhavenfuneral.com.