ROCKLAND — Mary C. Hills, 86, died March 28, 2013, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice in Scarborough, following a brief illness.

Born in Tremont Feb. 21, 1927, she was the daughter of Arthur J. and Mary M. Gray Connolly. Following her father's military career, she lived in the Panama Canal Zone, San Diego, Calif., and Key West, Fla. During her freshman year of high school, the family moved to Rockland, where she graduated from Rockland High School in 1944. She later attended the University of Southern Maine and earned her Master of Library Science from Simmons College in Boston.

After graduating from Simmons, Mary worked as a librarian at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts.

During the Kennedy Administration, Mary was active in the Democratic Party. She was active with the Girl Scouts and the Shakespearean Society. She also enjoyed the Owls Head Garden Club, and Daughters of St. Bernard's. Maintaining close friendships with her classmates, she enjoyed monthly luncheons with the class of 1944 and kept in touch with them. A voracious reader, Mary also enjoyed playing golf and bridge with her friends, as well as traveling and spending time with her family.

Predeceased by her brother, Norman Pettigrew; and her sister, Louise French; Mary is survived by three daughters, Elizabeth D. Watts and her husband, James, of Thomaston, Karen H. Anderson and her husband, Paul, of Tenants Harbor and Julie Chase and her husband, Dana, of Osprey, Fla.; eight grandchildren, Tiffany M. Strong, Tamara M. Strong, Ericka L. Theriault, Jaimee M. Watts, Ryan C. Watts, Troy J. Watts, Taryn M. Chase, and Danielle J. Chase; and seven great-grandchildren; as well as nieces, nephews and grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit Monday, April 1, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland. A memorial service will be held Tuesday, April 2 at 10 a.m. at St. Bernard's Catholic Church, 150 Broadway in Rockland. The Rev. Frank Semancik will officiate. A reception will follow at the funeral home's 104 Limerock reception facility.

To share a story with Mary's family, visit her Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.