Mary "Tweetybird" Louise (Mary Louise Zink) Wahler

Mary Louise Wahler, nee Zink, age 60, died peacefully on Friday morning, February 8th at Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada, with her loving husband Rick by her side, ending a four and a half year heroic battle against cancer.

Mary was born in Rhinelander, Wisconsin on February 17, 1958, the second child of Donald and Mary Zink’s six children. The daughter of a naval warrant officer Mary spent her early years moving around the country, living in Georgia, Virginia, Florida, Minnesota, and finally in Crandon, Wisconsin until the family settled in West De Pere, Wisconsin in 1968 when she was 10. She later attended St. Joseph’s Academy in Green Bay for two years before graduating from West Pere High School in 1976.

After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration - Finance at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, she eventually moved out to Las Vegas, Nevada for the hot weather since she always felt cold. She worked at Circus Circus Hotel as a lead supervisor in the Reservations Department for 30 years. There Mary found the love of her life in Rick Wahler and they were married on December 31, 1995. She lovingly spent hours creating many special memories with Rick’s son, Aaron - playing board games, watching movies, and often visiting Disneyland and the Tuacahn Amphitheatre.

She enjoyed playing cards, cribbage, bowling, collecting first day covers, watching movies, and was a huge Packer fan. She came to really enjoy country music and attended many concerts with friends. She disliked disorganization and was great at multi-tasking. It was a rare sighting to see her cooking. She loved dogs, playing all sorts of board and casino games – and was one of the luckiest persons around – seeming always to win some game, contest, raffle, video poker game, or at slots. Mary loved to tell stories that often went very looong! Her father gave her the affectionate nickname “Tweetie,” which stayed her whole life. She thoroughly enjoyed the many beautiful summer days spent fishing, swimming, and playing games at the family cottage on Whitefish Lake near Three Lakes, Wisconsin.

Her greatest joys were her family and friends. She was kind and considerate to all people, and loved children. In addition to caring for Rick and Aaron, Mary gave of herself and was a tremendously loyal and helpful friend. She was highly appreciated by her co-workers and was cherished by her friends. Once you became a friend of Mary, you became special and could feel it. She regularly sent cards and letters and made sure people knew they were loved and meant a lot to her. When siblings and friends turned 40 or on other special occasions, she would make wonderful video and picture montages. She loved taking pictures and videos to solidify the memories while celebrating her friends’ lives. At work, she always wanted to make her Circus Circus guests happy and enjoy their visit, and made lasting friendships in the process. She will be deeply missed by her many friends in Wisconsin, Nevada, and across the world.

She is survived by her husband Richard Wahler, adoring, step-son Aaron of Las Vegas, Nevada; step-daughter Stephanie (Mike) Davis of Granbury, Texas and family; her mother Mary (Rynda) Zink; siblings, Forrest (Marsha) Zink of De Pere, Wisconsin, Dorothy (Jose) Ferrer of Streamwood, Illinois, Joseph (Lynn) Zink of De Pere, Wisconsin, James Zink of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Katherine (George) Katsekes of Brookfield, Wisconsin; beloved nieces and nephews Michael (Sarah) Zink; Ilia (Max) Neuman; Charles (Michelle) Zink; Andrew, Lezlie and Anthony Zink; George and Grace Katsekes; James and Anna Zink; grand-nieces Marian and Veronica, and grand-nephew Frederick. She was loved dearly by her aunts, uncles, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her father, Donald “Joe” Zink, of De Pere, Wisconsin.

A visitation will be held from 3-7pm on Monday, February 18th at Palm Eastern Mortuary, 7600 S. Eastern Avenue, in Las Vegas, Nevada. A Celebration of Life followed by inurnment will be held at 1pm on Wednesday, February 20th also at Palm Eastern Mortuary. Flowers or a donation will be greatly appreciated. Flowers may be sent directly to Palm Eastern Mortuary. Donations may be made to the American Cancer Society in Mary’s name.

… And so now it is our turn to shed tears at our parting, until we see you face to face again.