Mary Colette (Martin) Chuey

Mary Colette Chuey, 90, of Girard passed peacefully away on Friday, February 9, 2024. The daughter of Joseph and Coletta Mae (Near) Martin was born on April 24, 1933 in the family home in Niles, OH.

Her family moved to Girard when Colette was a small child and she enrolled in North Avenue Elementary School. It was during this time where her love of performing and entertaining was born.  At the young age of 6, she and her family regularly attended shows at the Mock Theatre in downtown Girard. The pixie-sized Colette was frequently chosen to go on stage to pull tickets for their popular raffles and drawings when no one else was confident enough to go on stage and her life was forever changed.

She then attended Girard High School and her passion for performing blossomed and here her love of community, service, and Girard deepened. The 1951 graduate was active in many social clubs and activities including Y-Teen, Choir, Social Chairman, Mixed Chorus, Leaders’ Club, Intramural Sports, Concert Band, Prom Committee, Senior Day Chairman, Senior Play Crew, and according to her 1951 yearbook, she was “small and snappy, a majorette, Full of fun - that’s our Colette.” Her high school years also gave her friends who became her family for the rest of her life - where you saw Colette, you saw “the club.”

Colette worked as a secretary and found her career at US Steel, where she forged another close-knit group of lifelong friends. She proudly sang in the US Steel Choir where she regularly traveled and sang with other choral groups from across the nation. She retired in 1976.

On a chance encounter at a party in the late 1950s, she met a dashing young gentleman from Struthers who was the love of her life. She married Ralph B. Chuey on October 7, 1967. Together they built a happy and fulfilling life. They were entrepreneurs, history buffs, antique experts, and ahead of their time. Their antique business, CR Antiques, began shortly after their marriage with a small storefront at the bottom of Prospect Street and took them on many adventures for the next 50 years. The marriage also brought them two daughters she doted on and cherished.

Throughout her life, if anything was happening in Girard, Colette was a part of it. While many will remember her iconic hairstyle, she was most proud of her community involvement. She was proudly the longest standing member of Girard First Baptist Church where she also sang in the choir and served an integral role in the Fellowship Committee. She and Ralph were active in their daughters’ schools in the PTOs and they served as the head of the Girard High Band Boosters. She was also a Girl Scout Leader,  a member of the Girard Junior Women's Club, the Eastern Star and its Order of the Amaranth, and volunteered with anyone who needed help.

One of her proudest accomplishments was her and Ralph’s work with Girard Historical Society. They and a small caring group of devoted history buffs worked tirelessly to restore both the Barnhisel House and interest in it and the history of Girard. Once the house was restored and opened as a museum, she was a docent and the Society’s Vice President. She also developed a specialized yearly field trip tour specific for fourth graders that focused on the history of Ohio, Trumbull County, and Girard.

Those who will carry on her legacy include her daughters Erin (Pat) Meyer and Shawna Chuey; grandchildren Chris, Emma, and Sophia Meyer; nephew Marty (Darlene) Martin; great niece Leslie Danielle (Mike) Diana; great-great nephew Mikey Diana; and friends that were family Quentin, Tony, Greg, Joe, Sherry, Marguerite, Sally, Helen, John, and a slew of others too many to name.

Besides her parents, Colette is preceded in death by her husband, Ralph who passed on July 16, 2017; her brother Zack Martin; and niece Kathy Martin.

Private services were held at the Girard City Cemetery chapel and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

The family of Colette requests any memorial contributions can be made to Girard Historical Society and while mailing a donation is greatly appreciated, everyone who knew Colette knows she would have very much like you to visit the Barnhisel House in person during its regular hours, which she would want us to also share with you, the second and fourth Sundays of the month, May-November, call to arrange private or small group tours.