In Loving Memory: Carol Mastromauro

Carol Mastromauro was an important staff member at Malden High School for years and touched many lives. At the end of this post is the obituary and information on her services, which can also be found on Dello Russo Funeral Services Website.

The following post is from Ryan Gallagher:

I met Carol Mastromauro about 14 years ago when I began teaching at Malden High School. I consider myself so blessed to have known her. As many of us realize, to know Carol is to be close with Carol. To have known Carol means that she really knew you–that she knew your core. She was a mentor to me; she was like a mother to me; and, she was one of my very best friends.

There are, literally, thousands of students that view her as a second mom. I was lucky enough to work with her for years on a team–there is not another teacher that I have ever met that has had the capacity to know others as deeply as she did. She was also the most innovative teacher I have ever met–she was constantly reinventing herself, and her practice; and still, this is not what we will remember her for–because she had such a profound impact on everyone she met in such a personal way, sometimes we forget about her creativity, expertise, and intelligence. She simply meant so much to so many of us.

Carol took the time to know every student, even ones she wasn’t teaching. Because of her, we met families of students, shared strategies, shared content, planned together, stayed after school, came in early, went to events, and started summer programs. We ate lunch together every day as a team–talked politics, talked travel and culture, talked about art, shared our lives, talked family–really talked family, and talked some more about how to teach, how to improve the school, and what was going on with students. To work with Carol on a team, or to have her as a teacher, meant that every part of your life mattered to her–there was no point of learning content, or learning how to be a teacher, if we couldn’t share our lives with each other. If you worked with her on a team, it also meant that your families were going to celebrate holidays together, and that she would buy gifts for your children and attend birthday parties–there was no such thing as a “work” friend for Carol: if you were lucky enough to work with Carol, you were friends for life. If you were her student, she knew about your parents, how many siblings you had, your family dynamics, your passions, your dreams, your strengths, and what you needed to improve. She knew which buttons to push, when to do it, and why it was going to motivate you. Students would hug her and call her mom, show her pictures of prom, ask her for advice, and come back in their twenties to share life accomplishments.

She would feed us, and she would feed students–she was always hosting; her classroom was an extension of her home. She mentored student teachers and new teachers, and shared her own children’s lives with her students. Her cell phone would ring and she would drop everything to talk with her kids on the phone, even for a second, even in the middle of class. She was showing everyone what it meant to be part of a loving family–we’d all just wait, because nothing is more important than the people in your life. This is what she was teaching all of us–her subject just made us realize we were part of a vast cycle of humanity and history.

Carol made time for everyone. She mentored so many teachers at this school, not just on how to be a good teacher, but how to live the job–how many of us went to her first to figure out how to navigate teaching as new parents? or broke down to her with our fears of parenting or having sick children? or how to care for a sick family member? or because we were facing a daunting personal tragedy of our own? She was the reason many of us stayed teaching, and found comfort in teaching, through our own personal struggles–we found comfort, support, and inspiration in the community she created.

She taught me passion, and how to care deeply and fight and challenge whatever needs to be taken on–and yes, passion can be taught, but only from someone as special as Carol–you only needed to be around her to realize what a form of grace it is to exude passion, to fight for things, to fight for people, to support each other, and to make the time to know people deeply.

It amazes me how much capacity she had to know others so deeply. Most of us have a limited reserve for this–how can we possibly make the time for our families, for our students, for our past students, for our colleagues, for our past colleagues? But for Carol, the larger the circle of people in her life grew, the larger her capacity grew. Most of us have to pick and choose where we put our energy–she just grew more. Even when she was diagnosed, she continued to grow, make time for others, and really know and understand everyone she met.

I wanted to write this because I thought this part of her life, and her legacy, was so important to tell. For those of us that worked with her, we knew so much about how important her family was to her, and what a source of strength and joy her family was for her, but I wanted to make sure her family really understood how many people’s lives she impacted so deeply and so profoundly. And for those of us that were blessed enough to have worked with Carol, I wanted her legacy to remain with us and our community and continue to inspire us. She has been a source of inspiration for me every single day that I have ever taught, and this will never change.

Ryan Gallagher

3.21.2016

Carol A. (Ferrone) Mastromauro, of Melrose, formerly of Medford, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 18, 2016, at her home, surrounded by her loving family. She was 66.

Born and raised in Medford, she was the daughter of the late Cosmo and Sylvia (Constantino) Ferrone. Carol graduated from Medford High School with the class of 1967. She continued her education at Salem State University. In 1971, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education & History and in 1975 she completed her Master’s in Education. Shortly after completing her degrees, Carol began teaching in the Social Studies Department at Medford High School as a history teacher. Carol and her husband Charles were married in 1982, at St. Clement Church of Medford and started a family four years later. She resigned her teaching position in 1986 in order to raise their children. Caring for her children was her prime concern. When her children were grown, Carol returned to teaching History, this time at Malden High School. She taught there from 2000 through 2013.

Following her retirement, Carol spent much of her time with her granddaughter Arianna Rose, whom she loved and adored. Carol also enjoyed traveling. She traveled to Greece and to Italy. On their honeymoon, Carol and Charles visited Hawaii and San Francisco.

Carol loved decorating for the holidays. Her home could be referred to as the “Hallmark Home.” It was elegantly transformed to fit the season. She was also an excellent cook and was known for her famous Nana’s Christmas Soup and her handmade ravioli.

Carol will be remembered as a dedicated and loving mother. She was always kind and selfless. The best tribute that can be given to her is to note her strength and strong will.

Carol was the beloved wife of Charles Mastromauro, with whom she shared thirty-four loving years of marriage. She was the devoted mother of Matthew Mastromauro of Cambridge and Dianna Abrams and her husband Zachary of Easton. She was the loving Nonni of Arianna Rose Abrams of Easton and the dear sister of Guy Ferrone and his wife Connie of Wilmington. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

Funeral from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main Street, Medford, on Wednesday, March 23rd at 9 AM followed by a Funeral Mass celebrated in St. Clement Church, 71 Warner Street, Medford, at 10 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday from 4 through 8 PM. Services will conclude with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery in Medford.

To read a profile and watch a video from 2013 on Mastromauro, visit the following link:

Model UN Teacher of the Year Award