Obituary of Mary E Quint

Mary Elizabeth Quint, née Dysart (9/14/1932 - 8/30/2023) has passed on to a better place. She departed from her home with all of her children close at hand. 

Mary was born in Skowhegan and moved to Pittsfield as a toddler. Her parents, Larry and Mabel Dysart, were the proprietors of Dysart’s 5 & 10¢ Store, a Pittsfield mainstay for forty plus years. Mary worked at the store during high school when she was not practicing saxophone, clarinet or piano. 

After graduating from MCI, she became one of the first female saxophonists accepted into Boston University’s music education program. While on a trip home to Pittsfield, she met Martelle Quint and that was that. She had found the love of her life. They married in 1953 and had their first child in 1954. After that, they were off on a tear that didn’t stop until kid number seven was born in 1971. 

In addition to teaching music, raising an army of children and watching over all the other kids in the neighborhood, Mary took on another focus—the family business. A Happy Cooking propane franchise grew into Dysart’s Gas, and finally became Mid-State Gas. They served Pittsfield and the surrounding area until the mid-1990s. 

Marty and Mary enjoyed collegiate ice hockey for years and, after retirement, they found the time to become University of Maine men’s hockey groupies. They followed the team around the country and never missed a Frozen Four. 

After Marty passed away in 2008, Mary brought music performance back into her life. She learned handbells and played alto sax in several local community bands. And she traveled, taking trips to Boston, Washington DC, Chicago and New York City. She was never without a good book. 

Mary was predeceased by her parents and her younger siblings Nancy Dysart Veilleux and Larry Dysart II. She is survived by her seven children—Steve, Tom, Sue, Dave, Nancy, Janet and Doug—and their assorted partners. She had fourteen grandchildren, seventeen (and counting) great-grandchildren, and more nieces and nephews than you can count on four hands.

Mary’s daughters and her granddaughter Amber were instrumental in making sure her last years were spent at home and with dignity, and her sons are grateful to them for their dedication. 

Please raise a gin cocktail in Mary’s memory. She would have liked that. Gin was her only weakness.