Mary Angela Hughes

Mary Angela Jaeb - Hughes, (78) was born in Owatonna, Minnesota on December 4, 1937 to Victor A. (b.1900) and Angela (Schneider) Jaeb (b.1902). She passed peacefully on Tuesday, November 1, 2016 in Dallas, TX. She is deeply missed.

Mary attended elementary school in Claremont, MN, followed by preparatory school at the Villa Maria Academy in Frontenac, MN (1955), and nurses training at St. Anne’s School of Nursing in Chicago, Illinois (1958-59). St. Anne’s Hospital in Chicago was Mary’s first professional employer. There she met and married surgeon, Frank Descourouez, MD. After the birth of their first son, Lance Joseph (b.6/26/61), Mary and Frank moved to Freeport, IL, where daughter, Dana Marie (b.12/13/62), and son, Blair Francis (b.2/20/65) were born. After the annulment of her marriage, Mary and her children relocated to the hospitable confines of the St. Rita’s Catholic Community in Dallas, TX (1972).

Mary’s professional career included 27+ years (1973 - 2000) as a Registered Nurse at Medical City of Dallas, in the Department of Gastroenterology.

Mary was an avid reader and enjoyed music and travel. She was a devoted Catholic and made trips to The Holy Land; Oberammergau for the Passion Play in Germany; the Shrines of Our Lady of Lourdes in France and Fatima in Portugal; and Ireland. Above all, Mary cherished her role as a mother and nurse! She raised 3 children, while working as an RN and later (in retirement) as an RN with Hospice. Mary’s love of music included singing in the church choir and playing the piano. Mary will be remembered as a grandmother who loved her grandchildren. As a deeply faithful person, Mary was closely connected with many special friends in their beloved Holy Spirit circle; whose religious practices at both St. Rita and Mary Immaculate Catholic communities were dear to her heart. To her closest friends she is affectionately described as feisty and independent, blessed with a sense of humor and a constant quest to keep all happy, with a warm smile underscoring her pleasure in their company. As a mother, sister, daughter, co-worker and friend, Mary was deeply loved!

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Victor (in 1984) and Angela Jaeb (in 1971), and her loving daughter, Dana Marie (Descourouez) Martinez (d.2011).

Survivors include: Mary's son and daughter-in-law, Lance and Shawn (Watts) Descourouez and their children Andrew John and Mary Grace. Mary’s son and daughter-in-law, Blair and Melissa (Cass) Descourouez and Blair’s children, Rose, Sydney and Russell Descourouez; Mary's son-in-law, Jeff Martinez, husband of deceased daughter, Dana Martinez; Jeff resides where he and Dana lived, in Farmington, NM.

Mary’s surviving siblings are: Robert Jaeb (85) of Georgetown, TX; Ronald Jaeb (84) of Minneapolis, MN; Thomas Jaeb (81) of Dallas, TX and younger sister, Jelaine Letitia Jaeb, OSU (74), music minister and teacher, who is an Ursuline nun and resides in Coppell, TX.

Donations to any Hospice Center may be made in Mary’s honor. A memorial Mass is planned for Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 10:00 am at St. Rita Catholic Church, 12521 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75244. Reception to follow.

Mary Angela seeks your prayerful vigil that her soul and all the souls of the faithful departed be continuing recipients of your supplications. Thanks be to God.