Mary Grenga

Mary Palinkas Grenga, 100, passed away peacefully on Dec. 17, 2024, after living a long, full life.

She was born on Sept. 19, 1924. She grew up on the family farm, which also served as a recovery hospital, which is where she met her husband, John, during World War II. In 1953, John and Mary immigrated to the United States, being sponsored by the Federated Church of Wellesley.  They settled in Ashland, where they raised their family. After John passed, Mary worked tirelessly to raise her young children and provide for them while working at Fenwal Corporation. She later would marry Karl Grenga, who also predeceased her.

Mary was an expert baker, and everyone asked her to make her famous carrot cake for special events and would look forward to her Christmas cookie platters. She also loved to garden and knit and in her later years loved trips to the casino.

She is lovingly survived by her children, Aranka Ciccarelli of Hopkinton, with whom she lived, Maggie Dicken and husband Larry, and Stephen Palinkas and wife Camellia. She is the treasured Mimi to Sandra McGrath, Joanne Martin, Jennifer Merchant, Nichole Palinkas, Peter Dicken, Matt Dicken, Christy Pritchard, John Palinkas and Liz Thieme. She is the great-grandmother to 27 and great-great-grandmother to three. Her family is her legacy, and she was everything to them.

She is predeceased by both of her husbands, son John Palinkas and grandsons Joseph and Ed Palinkas.

A funeral service will be celebrated Saturday, Dec. 21, at 11 a.m. in the chapel of the Matarese Funeral Home, 325 Main Street, Ashland, with burial to follow in Wildwood Cemetery in Ashland.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Mary’s name may be made to a charity of your choice.

Obituaries are submissions, typically from funeral homes, that are not subject to the same level of editorial oversight as the rest of the Hopkinton Independent. Obituaries may be edited for grammatical and factual mistakes and clarifications and shortened for space considerations.