Mary C. Santos

On the morning of Tuesday, April 1, 2025, Mary C. Santos quietly passed away in her sleep at home in Suitland, MD. She was the second of three siblings. Her older sister, Evelina Estes, passed away less than six weeks earlier, on February 23, 2025.  

Mary was born Maria Cristina Sponza on April 24, 1938, to Andrea and Anna in Izmir, Turkey. The family was actively involved in the close-knit Italian/Greek community.  

At age 16, in November 1954, she married John M. Santos, a member of the U.S. Air Force, and they soon started a family. The family relocated every few years. Periodically, they returned to Izmir while her husband was deployed to various unaccompanied posts, including Vietnam. Between 1957 and 1964, Mary gave birth to five children, two girls and three boys. In 1964, she became a U.S. citizen. In November 1970, the family permanently moved to the U.S. and settled in Suitland, near Joint Base Andrews.  

During the 1970s, Mary joined the workforce as a cashier with the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES). Through hard work and perseverance, she worked her way up the chain of command and was selected to serve as Store Manager at the Andrews AFB, Bolling AFB, and Ft. Myers locations.  Mary took great pride in serving the military community. She remained with AAFES for over 40 years and retired in 2013.     

Mary enjoyed traveling and going to the beach, especially beaches in the Caribbean. She also loved spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Since the 1960s, Mary’s favorite entertainer was Englebert Humperdinck, a British balladeer known for singing romantic songs. Among her guilty pleasures was the occasional road trip to Atlantic City and more recently, to MGM and other local casinos. She also enjoyed playing various lotteries. Some of her favorite TV shows included game shows, the 

Golden Girls, and old westerns, such as Gunsmoke and The Rifleman.  

Mary had been in good health. For nearly 60 years she avoided hospitals.  However, in late September 2024, she was diagnosed with colon cancer. She underwent surgery and was declared cancer-free. Unfortunately, Mary never fully recovered, and her physical and mental states rapidly deteriorated. She also began to display signs of early dementia.  

Mary is survived by her brother, Renato Sponza (and wife, Marisa, Italy); five children- Pat (Virginia), Steve (Maryland), Rick (Maryland), Janet (Florida), and Ron (and wife, Susan, Maryland); five grandchildren – Jennifer (South America), David (Florida), Christina (Florida), Ryan (Colorado), Collin (and wife, Melanie, Maryland); and four great-grandchildren – Jude, Rory, Maggie, and Sonny Blu.  In addition, Mary will be remembered by her brother-in-law George Estes, James Estes (nephew), Cristina Sponza (niece, spouse Alberto Da Dalt, and sons Andrea and Giacomo, Italy), numerous cousins, friends, and the many people she touched during her lifetime. 

A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, May 2, 2025, at 10:00 am at St. Bernardine of Siena Catholic Church, 2400 Brooks Drive, Suitland, MD, 20746.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Shriners Children’s, https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/give,  or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, https://www.stjude.org.