DENTICE, Mary Ann
Born in 1892; died 24 November 1918; buried 27 November 1918; age 25
Mary was the fifth child and youngest daughter of William George and Mary TURNER (née GLOVER), born in Wanganui during 1892. Following a move to Wellington, the family lived for a time in Thorndon Quay and Mary’s father was employed as a shunter. Subsequently, the family moved to 43 Hopper Street, Te Aro [i], and William was occupied for several years as a bootmaker. During this period, Mary attended the nearby Mount Cook Girls School, leaving in 1906 when she would have been coming up to 14. Eight years later, the electoral roll for 1914 shows that family had moved to 55 Kent Terrace, with three of the children – Mary Ann herself, and two of her brothers, Horace (a packer) and John (a bootmaker like his father) – also living with their parents.
In 1917, at about the age of 24, Mary married Claude Dentice, a local man. Three years younger (born in 1895), Claude had attended the Mount Cook Infants’ School followed by Mount Cook Boys School. It seems that after leaving school, Claude gained an apprenticeship as an electrician, because the New Zealand Army WW1 Reserve Roll for 1916-1917 recorded him with the occupation of electrical engineer. He was then living with his parents at 94 Tasman Street.
In 1918, the year following their marriage, Mary became pregnant. On 24 November she delivered twin sons in the home of her parents-in-law. One of the babies was stillborn, and registered as such. Mary, presumably weakened by the rigours of childbirth compounded by being ill with influenza, died later the same day. Three causes of death were recorded on her death certificate: influenza pneumonia, child birth, and coma. The other baby seems to have survived, as in some of the next seven years reference is made to “her little son Ray” in In Memoriam notices. His birth, though, is not registered. Mary was buried on 27 November in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery.
The list of death notices published in The Evening Post on the following day, 25 November 1918, included four for Mary, or ‘Mary Annie’ as she had become: from her in-laws and husband Claude; one from her parents, then living in Awarua Road in Ngaio; and two from her siblings. One also acknowledged her three brothers, Horace, George, and John, the latter two of whom were on active service at the time.
One year later, the ‘In Memoriam’ column of The Evening Post published a total of ten separate notices from people whose lives had been touched by Mary Dentice. Claude, ‘her loving husband and little son, Ray’ put it this way:
Friends may think I have forgotten
When at times they see me smile,
But they know the aching heart
The smile hides all the while.
In my thoughts your memory lingers,
Tender, fond, and true;
There’s not a day goes by, dear Mary,
But what I think of you.
Notices continued to be placed family members until 1925. A couple of times there were also notices inserted by her friends and fellow workers, which suggests Mary had a job, probably prior to her marriage to Claude.
When Mary’s father-in-law, Albert John Dentice, died on 18 November 1930, he was buried with Mary. His wife, Elicia Jane was also buried in the plot when she died in 1946 aged 81. All three are commemorated in the inscriptions on the headstone.
In 1921 Claude married again, to Hilda May GROOBY, and they continued to live in Wellington for many years, with Claude working as an electrician.
Researched by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 138 E
[i] Hopper Street is parallel to Upper Taranaki Street from Webb Street for most of its length. There is no longer any residential housing in the area of no. 43.
Born in 1892; died 24 November 1918; buried 27 November 1918; age 25
Mary was the fifth child and youngest daughter of William George and Mary TURNER (née GLOVER), born in Wanganui during 1892. Following a move to Wellington, the family lived for a time in Thorndon Quay and Mary’s father was employed as a shunter. Subsequently, the family moved to 43 Hopper Street, Te Aro [i], and William was occupied for several years as a bootmaker. During this period, Mary attended the nearby Mount Cook Girls School, leaving in 1906 when she would have been coming up to 14. Eight years later, the electoral roll for 1914 shows that family had moved to 55 Kent Terrace, with three of the children – Mary Ann herself, and two of her brothers, Horace (a packer) and John (a bootmaker like his father) – also living with their parents.
In 1917, at about the age of 24, Mary married Claude Dentice, a local man. Three years younger (born in 1895), Claude had attended the Mount Cook Infants’ School followed by Mount Cook Boys School. It seems that after leaving school, Claude gained an apprenticeship as an electrician, because the New Zealand Army WW1 Reserve Roll for 1916-1917 recorded him with the occupation of electrical engineer. He was then living with his parents at 94 Tasman Street.
In 1918, the year following their marriage, Mary became pregnant. On 24 November she delivered twin sons in the home of her parents-in-law. One of the babies was stillborn, and registered as such. Mary, presumably weakened by the rigours of childbirth compounded by being ill with influenza, died later the same day. Three causes of death were recorded on her death certificate: influenza pneumonia, child birth, and coma. The other baby seems to have survived, as in some of the next seven years reference is made to “her little son Ray” in In Memoriam notices. His birth, though, is not registered. Mary was buried on 27 November in the Anglican section of Karori Cemetery.
The list of death notices published in The Evening Post on the following day, 25 November 1918, included four for Mary, or ‘Mary Annie’ as she had become: from her in-laws and husband Claude; one from her parents, then living in Awarua Road in Ngaio; and two from her siblings. One also acknowledged her three brothers, Horace, George, and John, the latter two of whom were on active service at the time.
One year later, the ‘In Memoriam’ column of The Evening Post published a total of ten separate notices from people whose lives had been touched by Mary Dentice. Claude, ‘her loving husband and little son, Ray’ put it this way:
Friends may think I have forgotten
When at times they see me smile,
But they know the aching heart
The smile hides all the while.
In my thoughts your memory lingers,
Tender, fond, and true;
There’s not a day goes by, dear Mary,
But what I think of you.
Notices continued to be placed family members until 1925. A couple of times there were also notices inserted by her friends and fellow workers, which suggests Mary had a job, probably prior to her marriage to Claude.
When Mary’s father-in-law, Albert John Dentice, died on 18 November 1930, he was buried with Mary. His wife, Elicia Jane was also buried in the plot when she died in 1946 aged 81. All three are commemorated in the inscriptions on the headstone.
In 1921 Claude married again, to Hilda May GROOBY, and they continued to live in Wellington for many years, with Claude working as an electrician.
Researched by Max Kerr
Grave Information:
Section: CH ENG2
Plot: 138 E
[i] Hopper Street is parallel to Upper Taranaki Street from Webb Street for most of its length. There is no longer any residential housing in the area of no. 43.