Obituary of Mary Denise Mabarak

Mary Denise Mabarak, 66, passed away on November 13, 2013. She went home to be with the Lord. She was born on March, 5, 1947 in Alma, MI to Eric and Sarah Gorham. Mary grew up in a military family and spent three years of her early childhood in Germany and then moved back to the United States and lived in various parts of the country as the family was transferred to different locations. She graduated from Lincoln High School in Lincoln, NE in 1965. After high school she attended Wayne State University in Detroit where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology in 1971 and later received a Master of Education in 1984. She began work for Detroit Public Schools as a special education and learning disabilities teacher at Butzel Elementary/Middle School where she worked from 1984-2009; she served as a Special Education Resource Room teacher there since 1998. Mary worked at Marcus Garvey African Centered Academy from 2009-2011. She finished her career at Detroit Public Schools as a Peer Assistance Review (PAR) Consultant Teacher from 2010 until her retirement in 2011. She retired from Detroit Public Schools in 2011 after 27 years. Mary married Paul Mabarak in 1969 in Detroit, MI they were happily married for 44 years. Mary was a member of Pi Lambda Theta: International Honor Society and Professional Association in Education, Wayne State University Writing Project, Wilson Reading System, International Dyslexia Association, and Michigan Association for Learning Disabilities, Council for Exceptional Children, and the International Reading Association. She enjoyed the waterfront on Lake St. Clair and had a great love for her family, pet dogs, cooking, and travel. She also was the recipient of eleven classroom grants for instructional enrichment; Wilson Reading System trainer for Detroit Public Schools from 1997-2002; School Grant Writing Team Chair; Mentored and coached selected middle and high school Detroit Public Schools' teachers in classroom management and instructional practices; Served as a member of school review teams for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Middle Start Initiative School Quality Reviews for schools in Stambaugh, St. Louis, Hancock, Detroit, and Kalamazoo. She was a teacher's "teacher" and loved spending her summers training teachers in Michigan and outside the state in the Wilson Reading Program. She was a lifelong student and received additional certifications as an Education Specialist/Reading Specialist from Wayne State University in 2007. She loved her work and all the different aspects of her occupation which included training teachers, teaching learning disabled students, teaching illiterate adults to read, writing grants, mentoring students and teachers, holding workshops and many other educational activities which when called to do she answered the call and gave her best effort to the task at hand and was held in high esteem by her peers as they witnessed the devotion, unwavering commitment and professionalism in which she displayed in her beloved occupation. She loved her career, students and people at Detroit Public Schools. She will be greatly missed by her family and all who have known and loved her. Mary is survived by her spouse Paul of Grosse Pointe Park, her son John Paul, of Grosse Pointe Park, her mother Sarah Gorham of Harper Woods, her brother Pat (Gayle) Gorham of Cape Girardeau, MO; and her sister Marcia (Dennis) Pullin of Eastpointe. A memorial service will be held at St Clare of Montefalco Parish located at 1401 Whittier Road, Grosse Pointe Park, MI at 10:30 a.m. Saturday November 30, 2013. The family requests memorial donations to be made to a charity of their choice.