In loving memory of
Mary Ellen DiCarlo

• October 28, 1961
• -
• July 09, 2024

My heart, my thoughts and my prayers go out to all of Mary Ellen’s children, grandchildren, parents and siblings and the countless other family members and friends whose hearts Mary Ellen has captured. I know this is long but there are not enough words to express how wonderful and how loved she was.

I have been privileged to know Mary Ellen for 9 years. I spent 8 hours a day with her for 6 of those 9 years and we were not only coworkers, but we chose to become friends and eventually family. She was a light and a force to be reckoned with in work and in her personal life and she will be deeply missed.

Mary Ellen and I often spoke about our children, her grandchildren, our families, and our lives. I can say that she was so proud of each one of them individually and for varied reasons and that she loved them so fiercely! I loved the smile she would get on her face and the love in her eyes as she would tell a story about them or when she would mention something that they were doing that she was moved by and even if they had done something that left her scratching her head.

Mothers have a special connection with their children, in fact some of the DNA of each child you have stays within your body for the rest of your days so when mothers say they will carry you with them until their last breath it is both literally and figuratively true. Mary Ellen loved her children, grandchildren, parents and stepfather, siblings, family, friends, her furry kids, and those of us who were fortunate enough to be chosen family with every piece of her heart.

Mary Ellen would give her ‘extras” (mind you she brought extra in to work for just this instance) to any of the ladies if she even heard a whisper that one of them did not bring something to work to eat or drink and they dare not tell her no they were not accepting! She was always willing to listen, research a solution, holler at you if you needed straightening up and she was always willing to drop off and pick up anyone in need. She was considered the “Mom” to all she worked with at Merry Maids, and you cannot describe with words the impact that had on some of the ladies and some of their kiddos who worked with her over the years.

Mary Ellen was also our personal Hurricane and Storm watcher, investigative reporter, in-house comedian and enforcer, she was extremely dependable, hardworking, and loyal! Oh, and let me tell you she could also dig up dirt and information on people faster than a background check.

She was loved by many of the people she provided service to, when she was in the field, and by those who she never met in person but spoke to when she was in the office. She was very proud to work with us here at Merry Maids and we were even more proud to have her as part of our family. Mary Ellen started out working in the field, and one year won the coveted Employee of the Year award given to 1 employee nationwide by Merry Maids Home Office. After years of dedication, she was promoted to work in the office as an Assistant Manager and then finally Office Manager.

Mary Ellen has touched the lives of many of our clients and in turn they have faithfully sent cards, called to check on her, prayed for her, offered to drop anything she needed to her, offered to give her a ride if she needed and one couple even offered to drive 45 minutes to sit with her when they found out she was in MA near their home. She of course was a very private and proud woman who would never think to put someone “out” even if they offered and it was NOT an imposition. But when I told her she was so grateful and humbled to know that she was loved by them and that they offered. She was extremely independent and sometimes it was infuriating to those of us who just wanted to be there for her out of love. I will always be grateful that she allowed me to be there with her when she received the PET scan results and I will cherish the hug she gave me and the words we expressed to each other on day.

As I have called this past few days to let our clients know of the loss of Mary Ellen they have cried, shared funny stories, asked if they can help in any way and expressed how they were blessed by her cheerful banter on the phone, the gratefulness that had in the care she provided them in their homes, and they most importantly expressed their deepest condolences for all of Mary Ellen’s family and how they truly felt the loss of this wonderful woman.

I will miss all of the laughter; her smile, her loyalty, her quick comebacks, the way she could throwdown word battles with the best of us, her honest concern and love, the random GIF texts received, long conversations, the ups and the downs, the stories shared, her threatening to throw Donna in the river on an almost daily basis (out of great love of course). I will miss her news broadcasts, weather reports, hurricane development updates, her on rare occasion loss for words or the ability to stand up (this is a long standing inside joke of her losing her balance and falling off the stoop) when she encountered an extremely handsome officer who walked in the office and a gorgeous property manager handing over a client’s key, her generosity, genuineness, kindness, compassion and the fact that she said after genealogical research and since we are both from the line of Johnson’s that we have to be related somewhere along our past bloodlines. I will simply miss my friend and my sister in life. Till we meet again Mary Ellen thank you for all your love……Goodbye for now.