Complex sentence: Marita Seward, of Oneonta, N.Y., was Boullata's wife for 56 years; she was a professional librarian at McGill University until her retirement, and she passed away on the 15th of August, 2016.
Split into simpler sentences: Marita Seward, of Oneonta, N.Y., was Boullata's wife for 56 years. She passed away on the 15th of August, 2016.