Mary Ellen Silvia

Middletown, RI - Mary Ellen Gillis Silvia, 79, of Middletown, RI, died on Wednesday, July 13, 2011, at home surrounded by her family.She was the wife of the late Edward C. Silvia. Born in Newport, RI on December 17, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Emma Johnston Gillis.Mrs. Silvia was a 1950 graduate of Rogers High School. Before her marriage to Edward she worked for a year for New England Telephone Company. With her late husband, she was the co-founder of Edward C. Silvia Plumbing and Heating and Midtown Oil Company. She was a member of the Newport Preservation Society, the Middletown Historical Society, the Middletown Library, the Portsmouth Senior Center and the Catholic Daughters. Mrs. Silvia also volunteered at the Newport Flower Show, the Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center, and in the St. Lucys kitchen. She was an artist when it came to watercolors and charcoal pictures, loved antiquing for furniture, she loved singing, flowers, gardening, preserving food and loved nothing more then baking and spending time with her grandchildren. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Caren and Robert Newbury of Mesquite, NV; Anne and Stephen Teixeira of Portsmouth, RI; Jean and Robert Herbert of Woonsocket, RI; Edward C. and Kristine Pratt Silvia, Jr. of Middletown, RI; Nancy and Douglas Summe of Lawrenceville, GA; Richard B. and Johnna Mello Silvia of Middletown, RI; her brother Raymond Gillis and his wife Marjorie Burgess Gillis of Newport, RI and her grandchildren, Michael and Marianne Ryan Teixeira of Newport, RI; Rebecca and Kristina Steeves of Lawrenceville, GA; Luke Mayer and his girlfriend Kerry Woodard of Woonsocket, RI; Brianna and Corey Silvia of Middletown, RI, and her great grandson Blake Richard Mayer of Woonsocket, RI. She was the sister of the late George Gillis, Frank Gillis and Mildred Paschoal.Calling hours will be held on Sunday, July 17, 2011, from 4-7 PM, in the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, RI. Her funeral will be held on Monday, July 18, 2011, at 8:00 AM, from the Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:00 AM in St. Lucys Church, 909 West Main Road, Middletown. Burial will be in St. Columba Cemetery in Middletown. Donations in her memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, 931 Jefferson Blvd., Suite 3004, Warwick, RI 02886 VNS of Newport and Bristol Counties, 1184 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI 02871.