1943 — 2025
We are saddened to let people know of Mary’s death on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2025.
Mary fell in her home and suffered a severe head injury followed by a series of strokes. Her condition declined over the next couple of days.
Friends visited and spoke with Mary in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Asante Hospital in Medford, and were relieved to learn from her that she was not in pain. The hospital chaplain said a prayer and a priest was able to offer Mary the last rites. She died peacefully shortly thereafter.
Mary and her brother, Joe, grew up in Galena, Illinois. Mary liked to tell us that she was the sensible one in her family, however upon meeting her mother, Stella (a school teacher), we all knew from whom that trait was inherited. Their father, Wilbur “Bill” was a mechanic. He was the quiet one. Mary attended kindergarten in the basement of the Galena Public Library, completed elementary school at St. Mary’s, and graduated from Galena High School in 1960.
She earned her teaching credentials at university, returned to Galena and then began her teaching career across the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa. Mary volunteered as a tour guide in the historic town of Galena and also at the General Grant Home State Historic Site. She would later write a book about Julia Dent Grant (Mrs. Ulysses S.) titled, “Julia’s Spirit.”
After teaching in Dubuque, Mary began an adventurous, almost nomadic life signing up with the Department of Defense to teach overseas. She did two separate assignments in Germany with a trip back home to Galena and spent some time teaching in California. It is a challenge to accurately report the chronology of her adult life because she crossed the country and the Atlantic Ocean several times to accept teaching positions, travel and do family research, and memories have faded a bit. Mary came home again to Galena to help when her mother (Stella) had become ill.
After Stella’s death Mary moved to Florida. She had met her then future husband, Igor, on her second tour in Germany, and he was subsequently living in Florida and working on the military base there. Mary and Igor were later married in Galena on Dec. 29, 1987. Mary earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in education and ended up teaching at Rollins College completing her teaching years there.
Mary wrote her first book while she was in Florida: “What Made us Who we are Today.” She and Igor would spend time at the Officer’s Club on the base near their home. Igor could get the old veterans talking and telling stories, and as Mary listened in she realized that these stories were worth writing down, so she transcribed them. The book is filled with interesting and inspiring recollections by the veterans of the World War II home front, battles, and more. Mary loved history and telling stories, and these veterans’ stories were faithfully written down as told; however, in her social storytelling life, she never let the truth interfere with a good one!
Several of Mary’s friends visited her and Igor at their Florida home, and were chauffeured to all of the tourist places and other points of interest. Visitors enjoyed Igor’s culinary skills, Mary’s stories and also sitting by the pool as the little lizards flirted with everyone.
After Igor’s unexpected death in December of 2002, Mary moved to the west coast where a couple of her long-time friends lived. In Oregon Mary immersed herself in genealogical research and became a valued member of the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society. In addition to helping others researching their families, she continued to research people in her own family by traveling to Salt Lake City to the Genealogical Library and to Germany to make important connections about her family. Additionally, Mary’s adventures found her traveling to Russia, Cuba and Iran, back to Florida and Galena and then off again on other adventures.
Mary decided to make southern Oregon her permanent residence, so she bought a house in Talent, where she got involved creating her garden and also leading a team of residents who developed a community garden on a barren piece of land within the development.
On the morning of Sept. 8, 2020, tragedy struck when the Almeda fire swept through the Rogue Valley, and within a matter of hours it destroyed more than 2,600 homes. It was the most destructive wildfire in Oregon’s recorded history. Mary’s house in Talent was among those burnt to the ground. She lost everything except what she was able to grab as she evacuated. Her many meticulously designed scrapbooks chronicling her travels and adventures, as well as photographs, memorabilia and family heirlooms were lost in that fire.
Mary was incredibly resilient. Immediately after the fire she set about figuring out what do to and what resources were offered for the fire victims. She ended up staying with her friend, Dolly, in Ashland, whose neighborhood had escaped the fire. She also was able to find a treasured ring given to her by her husband, Igor, as she and a friend were sifting through the ashes of her house. After deciding to stay in the area, Mary purchased a house in Ashland and called it home until her death.
Mary was loved and respected, and will be terribly missed.
Honoring Mary’s wishes, she was cremated and her ashes sent to Galena for interment with her husband in the Saint Mary’s Cemetery.
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