Mary Byrnes Bollinger

Mary Byrnes Bollinger passed away May 21, 2026, at Gilchrist Hospice Center in Towson. Born Feb. 5, 1945, in Baltimore, she was the fifth of six children born to Judge Joseph R. and Anne Sullivan Byrnes. Mary graduated from Bon Secours’ nursing program and began a more than two-decades-long career in nursing, first in the emergency room at GBMC, then—following additional schooling—as a psychiatric nurse at Sheppard Pratt. Nursing remained her passion throughout her life, and she stayed friends with many of the women with whom she graduated from nursing school or with whom she worked. In 1969, she married her high school prom date, Sylvester “Butch” Bollinger. Together they had four children: Matthew, Mark, and John Bollinger, and Anne Bollinger McLain. They raised their family in Original Northwood, where Mary and Butch made many friends for life, before moving to Cedarcroft, where the family spent many happy years surrounded by friends and extended family. A devoted couple, Mary was a tremendous support to her husband as he built his business, Bollinger Energy. Mary and Butch shifted life to the Eastern Shore with the purchase of their first home there in 1993. Although Butch continued to work in Baltimore City, commuting back and forth, Mary fully embraced Eastern Shore living. She was a volunteer Riverkeeper, a steward for the local log canoe races, and a member of the Miles River Yacht Club. She and Butch loved sailing and fishing on their boat, the Mary B. Their Boston Whaler—and its notoriously temperamental engine—was the source of many amusing misadventures. Theirs was a happy marriage filled with fun and adventure, including vacations in St. Bart’s and a safari in Africa that was on Mary’s “bucket list” and which she and Butch were able to take shortly before he passed from cancer in 2012. Mary will be remembered for her vivacious personality, her generosity, her devotion to her husband and family, her love of the water, and her commitment to nursing and those for whom she cared. Mary’s life was filled with friends and family and in 2021, she returned to Baltimore to be closer to her children and especially her grandchildren: Paige and Charlie Bollinger; Hugh, Collin, and Cadden McLain; and Abbie Bollinger. She is survived by her siblings Nancy Martel, Judge J. Norris Byrnes, and Judge John Carroll Byrnes, daughters-in-law Jennifer Bollinger and Christianna McCausland, son-in-law Patrick McLain, and many beloved nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her husband Sylvester, her sister Patricia Byrnes and her brother David Byrnes. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Funeral services are private.

Mary Byrnes Bollinger

February 5, 1945 - May 21, 2026