Mary Morse

Friends will be received at the funeral home on Wednesday from 4 to 7 PM. The funeral procession will form 9 AM Thursday at the funeral home and proceed to Saint Joseph's Church for a 10 AM Mass of Christian Burial. Burial will follow in St. Mary's Cemetery.

Mary Dunn Morse, 94, formerly of RiverView condos in Port Ewen, died Saturday June 27, 2026 at Mountain Valley Manor, Kingston. Born December 28, 1931 in Kingston, she was the daughter of the late Richard and Elizabeth (Reilly) Dunn.

While attending Kingston High School, Mary studied Voice with Leonard Stine, and became a Soloist with the A Cappella Choir. From there Mary went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music, Potsdam University, majoring in Voice. She was mezzo-soprano soloist with the Crane Chorus and Orchestra, highlights of which include a performance of Faure' Requiem in D Minor at Carnegie Hall, NYC, and chosen by the faculty as ceremony soloist for the 1954 Crane School Graduation. Following Crane Mary became Director of Vocal Music at Clayton School in the Thousand Islands, and won contralto soprano solos at Utica music festival 1955. Mary taught Music in Hunter and Tannersville schools K-12, and taught and developed, Elementary, Junior, and Senior High Choirs. Mary obtained her MS degree in Education in 1967 from State University of New York at Oneonta. She did post-graduate studies at Skidmore in Saratoga Springs, and in 1970 performed with the Saratoga-Potsdam Choral Institute and the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Eugene Ormandy for the Saratoga Performing Arts Center season.

In the last of her career, Mary moved to Music and Art teaching in the Kingston City School District, teaching at John F. Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, and George Washington schools until her retirement in 1986.

Surviving is her daughter, Eileen Morse; her nieces and nephews, Ann Leahy, Elizabeth Patrick, Tom Leahy and his wife Joyce, Richard Leahy of Colorado Springs and Ricky Dunn of Raleigh, North Carolina. She is also survived by a grand nephew, Evan Leahy and his wife Erin.

Mary's husband, Ron Morse; her son, Terry Morse; sisters, Elizabeth "Betty" Platkin and Lucy D. Leahy and brother Richard Dunn all died previously.