Marie Antoinette Erps, 98, wife of the late Mac Edward Erps with whom she shared over 50 years of marriage, died December 19, 2015 in Salem Hospital following a brief illness.
Born in Salem, the daughter of Adelard and Helene (Martin) Morin, she spent most of her life in Salem and graduated from Salem High School Class of 1936. She worked at New England Telephone prior to her marriage and then returned to work at NYNEX once her children were grown. She retired from NYNEX in 1982 and enjoyed many years of travel with her husband visiting throughout the United States for Erps family reunions along with trips to Tahiti, Dominican Republic, Canada, Cruises to Bermuda, and a special European Train Trip for her daughter’s 50th birthday. Although she traveled extensively she would always say the best part of any trip was coming home to family.
Toni’s main interest was her family, however her passion was dancing, whether ballroom dancing or square dancing with the former Salem Lancer’s Square Dance Club where she was treasurer. Since her husband’s death in September of 1997 she would tell the family that she never found another dancing partner who was as good on the dance floor as Mac. Toni was quite the social organizer and was always planning a family gathering or a bus trip to Canada with friends. She was on the planning committee for many years for the Salem High School Class of 1936 Reunions with her main focus being the entertainment portion for which she personally provided at her 75th reunion using her infamous Hawaiian costume. No matter the holiday she had a special costume with which to celebrate- most recently her Salem Witches hat for Halloween.
She is survived by her daughter, Paula Donovan and her husband Robert of Wenham, MA, her son Glenn Erps and fiancée Denise Nault of Londonderry, NH, her son Ralph Erps and wife Kim of Salem, MA, former sister in law Barbara Jean Erps of Salem, MA, four grandchildren, Eric Erps and his wife Shawna of Beverly, MA, Keith Erps of Manchester, England, Timothy Erps of Cambridge, MA and Nicole (Donovan) Donnellan and husband Charles of Pittsburgh, PA, three great grandchildren, Noah and Ethan Erps of Beverly, MA and Colin Donnellan of Pittsburgh, PA, her sister Rita Shute of Palm City, Florida, her brother in law Glen Erps and wife Betty of Grants Pass, OR, brother in law Rex Erps of Wasilla, AK and brother in law’s wife Leilani Erps of Camano Island, WA, as well as many nieces and nephews.
In addition to her husband she is predeceased by her sisters: Annette (who passed away before her first birthday), Sr. Helen Joseph, Emelia, Marguerite, Annette, Beatrice, Dolores, Violette, Simone, Rachel, Rosabelle, Carmen, Lucille, Lucienne, Dorothy and brothers Roland and Ralph and brother in law Floyd.
Relatives and friends are invited to the Levesque Funeral Home, 163 Lafayette St. [Route 114 / 1-A] Salem, on Wednesday, December 23, 2015 for an hour of visitation from 9:30 to 10:30 A.M., to be followed by her funeral mass in Ste. Anne Church, 290 Jefferson Ave., Salem at 11:00 A.M. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Salem High School Class of 1936 Scholarship Fund, c/o Carol Amodeo, 77 Wilson Street, Salem, MA 01970. For additional information and guestbook, please visit www.LevesqueFunerals.com