Mary Wylie Conniffe Cely

Mary Wylie Conniffe Cely died on May 29, 2026, one week after her 105th birthday. Born on May 22, 1921, she was the only child of Emmett Robinson Conniffe and Laura Wylie McCrorey Conniffe.

A lifelong resident of Columbia, she grew up in the heart of Old Shandon and graduated from University High School in 1938 and the University of South Carolina in 1942 with majors in Psychology and Art History. She married the late Claude Merritt Cely, whom she met at Carolina, in December 1942. A member of the Greatest Generation, she tended the home front and cared for her infant son while her husband served overseas during World War II.

“Mimi,” as she was called by her grandchildren, was a supportive and loving mother who never let on which of her four sons, or which of her eleven grandchildren, was her favorite. She was a passionate gardener for more than sixty years, cultivating her one-acre property in Forest Acres. She loved antiques, garden clubs, collecting old bottles, camellias, her grandchildren, good friends, books, and dogs, and she never met a stranger. She was a lifelong member of Shandon Presbyterian Church.

She was preceded in death by her oldest son, Claude Merritt Cely, Jr. She is survived by her daughter-in-law, Marlene Cely of Wilmington, NC; three sons, John Emmett (Margaret), Robert Wylie (Debby), and Patrick Conniffe (Trisha), all of Columbia; 11 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank the caregivers at the Presbyterian Home in Lexington for the loving care and support they provided to “Mrs. Cely.”

Memorials may be made to the Congaree Land Trust, Friends of Congaree Swamp, or a charity of your choice.