Mary B. Pearson

Mary Belle Mardock Pearson was born October 16, 1923 to Lester and Viola Mardock; she grew up in Wichita, attending the public schools there, and graduated from North High School in 1941. Mary excelled academically in high school, making honor roll continually; her strongest subjects were languages such as French, Spanish, and German, and some Latin.

The war broke out in late 1941, while Mary was enrolled at Friends University. During the war years, Mary attended Friends University while holding down jobs at the Wichita Eagle Newspaper and the US Post Office; she graduated from Friends University in 1945 with a BA degree.

On January 29, 1945, Mary married Wayne Pearson at the University Friends Church. They started a family after Wayne returned from war duty in the Merchant Marines.

In the spring of 1957, the family moved to Colorado where they started attending Denver Friends Church where they became members in 1958. Mary was an active member.

Mary's career was as a para professional and she worked at the Boulder Daily Camera, Rocky Mountain News, and Neodata services, Inc, and also worked as a teacher's aide at an elementary school in North Boulder.

There are many examples of Mary's commitment to her family's care, perhaps the most notable one was how she would plan and provide for provisions for the entire family when they went on fishing and camping trips. Every year at least one time per year, the family would go for at least a week to ten days to Trapper's Lake in Western Colorado, the nearest town to the lake, Meeker was about 50 miles away.

After the children were grown and out of the house, Mary and Wayne took on a career change by owning and operating a Western Auto Store in Burlington, CO. Mary took charge of the book keeping and accounting duties of the store; after several years, they returned to Broomfield where Mary returned to working at Neodata. She retired in 1985.

Mary was a patient, kind, understanding, but firm Mom as demonstrated by the way she lived her life. One of her favorite verses underlined in her Bible was Galatians 2:21, “I do not frustrate the grace of God for if righteousness comes by the law then Christ is dead in vain.”

Mary is predeceased by her parents, husband Wayne, brother Robert Mardock, and sister Javene Clark; she is survived by daughters Maris Simmons (Robert), Carol Gutscher (Don), Dana Roy (John), son Dave; 4 grand children and 5 great-grandchildren.

Donations can be made to Denver Friends Church and Friends University alumni association.

A visitation for Mary will be held Wednesday, March 16, 2022 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Olinger Crown Hill Mortuary & Cemetery, 7777 West 29th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033. A funeral service will occur Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 2pm at Denver Friends Church, 4595 Eliot St in Denver, CO.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CrownHillFuneral.com for the Pearson family.