Marie Theresa Morrell

Marie Theresa Morrell, 94, of Waldorf, Maryland, passed away on March 27, 2026. She was born, as she liked to say, “on the kitchen table” in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City on December 29, 1931. Her father and mother’s families were immigrants from the small Sicilian village of Caltabellotta on the southern side of the island. In the U.S., her family settled in New York City and eventually put down roots in Jackson Heights, Queens. Marie attended St. Jean Baptiste High School in Manhattan and later met her husband of 68 years, Edward Morrell, when both worked at Shell Oil. When job opportunities brought them to the Washington, D.C. area in 1964, Marie and Ed were among the first families to purchase a home in Waldorf’s St. Charles housing development. Marie quickly became involved in the community. She volunteered at schools and church and served on the Women’s Auxiliary of the Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department. She attended St. Peter’s Catholic Church and later Our Lady Help of Christians. Once her children were grown, Marie relaunched her career as a secretary at the CIA’s National Photographic Interpretation Center in Washington, D.C. She loved her job, cherished her coworkers, and was honored by them as the CIA’s Secretary of the Year in the early 1990s. Marie’s greatest joy was her family. Like many Italians, she maintained a strong bond with her family and extended family. For more than 40 years, she organized an annual family reunion that attracted family and friends from across the eastern U.S. She is preceded in death by her mother, Domenica Marie Mulé, her father, Paul Mulé, and her brother, Paul Mulé, Jr. Marie is survived by her beloved husband, Edward Morrell; her children, Edward (Gena), Paul (Candace), and Tim; her four grandchildren, Lauren Morrell, Emily Basile (Mark), Christine Morrell, Chloe Morrell, and Claire Morrell; and two great-granddaughters, Francesca and Domenica Basile. A funeral Mass will be held at noon on Tuesday, April 7, at Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Waldorf, followed by internment at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Waldorf.

Marie Theresa Morrell

December 29, 1931 - March 27, 2026