Mary Lu Pool, retired teacher, photographer
Mary Lu Pool (née O’Leary), 75, of Milton, passed away after a brief illness Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at Beebe Healthcare in Lewes with her family by her side.
Mary Lu was born Aug. 19, 1949, in Springfield, Mass., to the late Daniel O’Leary and Stasia O’Leary (née Bednarz). She grew up in Newburgh, N.Y., spending many wonderful summers with her parents, three brothers, and countless aunts, uncles, and cousins at the “Big Camp,” a family property in the Catskills.
After graduating from high school, Mary Lu moved to Baltimore and attended the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, earning a bachelor of arts in history and political science. While in college, she met her future husband, Leroy “Roy” Pool, who studied at the nearby Johns Hopkins University. Following her marriage in 1969, Mary Lu settled in rural Maryland and embarked on a 40-year teaching career with Baltimore County Public Schools (Inverness and Sparks Elementary Schools). During her time as a teacher, she engendered a love of reading and creative writing in generations of students and developed many lifelong friendships with colleagues.
The 1980s and 1990s were a time of significant change for Mary Lu. She had a son – one of the great joys of her life – earned a master of education from Towson University, took up photography and scuba diving, and began traveling all over the world, from islands across the Caribbean to the savannas of East Africa to the rainforests of Central America. Through these experiences, Mary Lu developed a keen interest in protecting the environment and helping those in need. While her marriage to Roy ended in divorce, the pair eventually rebuilt their relationship and developed a beautiful friendship that would last for the rest of Mary Lu’s life.
In early 2014, Mary Lu retired from teaching and moved to Milton to enjoy life near the Delaware beaches. She joined the Coastal Camera Club, rode her bike along the region’s many trails and paths, made delightful new friendships, and continued traveling widely. In late 2017, however, Mary Lu suddenly lost the ability to speak and was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer that had spread to her brain, despite being a nonsmoker. Thanks to her experienced medical team, Mary Lu achieved a remarkable complete remission that lasted for the remainder of her life – more than seven years. During her recovery from cancer, she learned to speak again and was soon back to doing what she loved most. In the years that followed, Mary Lu further honed her photography skills, ultimately displaying her work in multiple galleries and becoming the official photographer for Historic Lewes Farmers Market.
The family wishes to express its gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Beebe Healthcare for their profound kindness and their tireless efforts to try and keep Mary Lu alive.
Mary Lu was preceded in death by her parents; and her brothers, John O’Leary and Gerald “Gerry” O’Leary. She is survived by her son, Jamie Pool and his husband Joshua Leibowitz; former husband Roy; brother, Daniel O’Leary; sister-in-law, Myra Byrnes O’Leary; niece, Kathleen Finn (née O’Leary); and nephew, Sean O’Leary. She is further survived by many siblings, nieces, and nephews through her former husband.
The family will have a memorial service at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, consider donations to causes of importance to Mary Lu, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, hopkinsmedicine.org/kimmel-cancer-center/make-a-gift, or other research hospitals specializing in new cancer treatments, Church World Service, or a meaningful charity of choice.
Visit Mary Lu's Life Memorial webpage at parsellfuneralhomes.com.
