Mary Margaret Bounelis - Obituary

ary Margaret Bounelis was 86 when she passed away on July 18, 2016, but she lived a life that most people would consider to be about eight or ten lives worth of amazing travel, interesting food, adoring family, and great music. Born in New Jersey on January 27, 1930, she then went with her parents to their native homeland in Scotland, where she lived most of childhood and young adolescence. She lost a brother to scarlet fever and watched the atrocities of war attack her home. Despite never having graduated from high school, she never lost her appetite to learn, and she later earned her Associate's Degree in Business. As a young telephone operator on a vacation at a beach area in Toronto, Canada, she met a handsome Greek guy from Annapolis, Charlie Bounelis, who was also on vacation. He asked her to marry him on their first date. She almost agreed. They corresponded by mail and telephone until she hopped on a train, bought a wedding dress in New York, and married him at the Greek church on July 27, 1950. Together they had three children and they raised them in Annapolis on Chesapeake Avenue: Robert Bounelis (wife Janie), George Bounelis (wife Judy), and Francine Kalnoske (husband Andy). Her mother, Isobel McQueen, helped caregive for the children while Margaret did something most women didn’t of her time: smashed glass ceilings. At the time of her retirement from AT&T in 1990, she had worked more than 40 years with the company; she was one of the first women promoted to Senior Management, working her way up from operator. While working, she was able to travel the world with her Charlie, many times over, and spoil her grandchildren and then, later on, her great-grandchildren. Charlie preceded her in death in 1998. A love of art, travel, and exploring the world was something she deeply inspired in her kids and grandkids, taking each grandchild to a different city in the world upon their high school graduations. She was a talented singer and loved singing with the Annapolis Chorale, where she was the Secretary of the Friends Committee for several years. She wrote her memoirs. She was a talented artist. She could beat you at poker. She loved the music of Brahms and Liszt, but she really loved any music that moved people. She always used the good china. She threw great parties. She wanted to live long enough to see how Downton Abbey ended. She always ordered dessert. She taught so many so much just by living her life on her terms. She will be missed. A funeral will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2016, at 11am at First Presbyterian Church Of Annapolis, 171 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis, Md. Interment St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox cemetery, Annapolis, Md. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Church Circle Singers, 3 Church Circle, Ste. 123, Annapolis, Md. 21401 or Live Art Maryland, 801 Chase St., Annapolis, Md. 21401. Online condolences and tributes may be made by visiting the link on the left side of this page.