Mary E. Ewing

Mary E. Ewing, of Homer, passed away unexpectedly on January 14, 2026 at the age of 77.

A lifelong area resident, Mary was born November 16, 1948, a daughter of the late Ernest and Mildred Ewing.

Mary earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her MSW from Syracuse University.

She retired in 2016 from Access to Independence, where she worked as the Executive Director and prior years as a social worker. She had also previously worked for several years as the Communications Director at Cortland Memorial Hospital. She was a past board member of Cortland County Mental Health Association (MHA) and New York Association of Independent Living (NYAIL).

Surviving is her best friend of 64 years, Linda (Bosworth) Spencer of Homer; Linda’s son, Jason Bosworth of Cortland; and Linda’s daughter, Brenna (Jerry) Brown and their children, Elizabeth and Lauren of Jamesville. As well as longtime friends the Scanlin family including, David Scanlin of Virginia; Patty Uptergrove of Texas; Robert (Sandy) Scanlin of New York; and Lorena (Larry) Klaes and their children, Alex and Adam of Cortland and special friend, Chad Underwood. Along with cousins, David (Karen) Langdon of Hawaii; Stephen Langdon of Las Vegas; Mark (Pilar) Langdon of California; and their children.

Mary is predeceased by her parents, Mildred Langdon Ewing and Ernest Ewing; cousins, Richard and Jean Langdon; and close friend, Phil Scanlin.

Mary persevered through many obstacles in her life. She was given 5 to 15 years to live after her fateful car accident that left her paralyzed at the young age of 17. Though this was a significant part of her life, Mary chose to focus on her dream of traveling extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands. She also pursued higher levels of education and excelled in her professional life as a leader.

Besides her extensive traveling, her passions also included following and attending games of the Syracuse University Men’s Basketball team, puzzles, card games, board games, reading thriller sci-fi novels and many adventures traveling to local casinos.

Mary cherished her cozy mint green childhood home where many happy memories of birthdays, holidays and game nights brought her joy. Her friend Linda and her children lived with Mary for many years, making Mary's house a home filled with love which she opened to many people who became family in her life.

Mary lived for another 60 years after her accident, surpassing all expectations: This is a true testament of Mary's strong spirit which lived up to her high school quote of "If it's not fun, I won't do it!"

Thank you to all the healthcare professionals, friends and her neighbors who cared for and helped Mary over the years. A special thank you to all the healthcare professionals at Crown Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center who took care of Mary. 

Memorial services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 7, 2026 at the Donald L. Barber Funeral Home, 5016 U.S. Route 11, Homer.

Calling hours will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, from 12:00 p.m. until the time of the service.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary E. Ewing, please visit our floral store.