Mary Elizabeth Grebe

Good Morning, I am Jennifer Walker, Mary’s oldest granddaughter. Anyone who ever

knew my grandmother can attest wholeheartedly to the fact that,……you ALWAYS, ALWAYS

knew how grandma felt about things. She said what she thought and she knew she was

right…and reminded you often, even when you didn’t ask for her opinion. In a way it was this

tenacity, determination, grit and stubbornness that helped her to overcome challenges, and

accomplish amazing things in her life…… to raise five good children and to enjoy 19

grandchildren and 32 great grandchildren. She was a person who learned how to work hard

and make things happen.

Mary Elizabeth Jackson was born on July 3rd, 1919, the 5th child of Victor Orin

Jackson and Ada Estella Rex. She was born in a home on the Lincoln Ranch near Cokeville,

Wyoming and was named after her grandmother Mary Elizabeth Rex. As a young girl she lived

in Belfrey, MT, where she worked in the garden, picked beans and took care of animals. As she

got older her summers were filled with working on ranches, caring for children and feeding the

hired hands. During the school year she would live with neighbors in town. She enjoyed track

and basketball and was chosen for the all star team.

Summers in high school took her to Cooke City where she worked in her father’s

grocery store. Her days were filled with clerking, washing milk bottles and bottling milk. In the

summer of 1939 Mary worked in the store and Bob came up to take care of the cows. The two

decided to elope on July 14, 1939. They were married in Billings Montana. Apparently Bob

and Mary had been talking about getting married for months. They honeymooned at Cooke

City in a room above the store and later moved into a black tar paper shack. The couple

eventually moved to Billings, found a one room apartment for $16.00 a month. Mary worked

cleaning houses and as a maid in a hotel while Bob studied at the business college. They were

on a tight budget and eventually saved up enough for a motorcycle.

Bob was hired by Allis Chalmers Machinery Company and they had their first son

Robert Earl Grebe in 1941. They bought their first home in 1942 for $1,700.00, nothing down

and $20.00 a month. A year later, Keith Roy Grebe joined the family. Shortly after Keith’s

arrival Bob was called up by Uncle Sam and joined the Marines. For 18 months, Mary took

care of her two young boys, living off of Bob’s military pay and had the help of her sister Alice

who came to live with her. While Bob was gone, she would sit by the radio and listen for any

news about his company and their whereabouts.

Bob returned from World War II and a year later he was baptized. In 1948 they had their

first and only girl, Karen Lee Grebe. The family was sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple the

following year. They built a home in Billings, bought a 120 acre farm and added another son,

Lynn Charles Grebe in December of 1952. Eventually, Bob’s employment took them to

Amarillo Texas. The church was very small in Amarillo and they had many opportunities to

serve and work in the branch there. They added their last son to the family, Mark Allan Grebe in

October of 1957.

With the responsibilities of a growing family, Mary worked hard and did her part. She

raised poodles to finance Keith’s mission to Germany. With two children in college she started

working at Texas Instruments. She would work the graveyard shift so that she would be home

to get Mark off to school. Later she got her real estate license and started selling homes.

In 1977 Mary and Bob moved to Longview Texas. They continued to serve in the

church locally and later enjoyed working in the Dallas Temple. They finally finished building their

cabin in Cooke City in 1988, which was a dream come true for grandma.

A final move would take Bob and Mary to Denver Colorado in 2001, living across the

street from Keith and Janine. There they continued to serve in the church, working in the

Denver Temple once a week . Mary made over 300 of receiving blankets for local hospitals and

care centers. She was sewing well into her mid 90’s. She was a phenomenal seamstress,

sewing clothes for her younger kids and her grandchildren. We are all owners of dozens of

quits that she has made, some with very bright and fun colors and patterns. She would save

even the smallest pieces of material for her future quilt projects. As grandma’s quilts came and

we opened them up, my mother would always be able to pick out the different fabrics that she

remembers wearing in a dress or shirt from years ago.

As I reflect on my grandmothers life, most of the memories I have of her involve working

in some way or another. She took us along when cleaning rental properties, she always had

jobs for us to do in Cooke City during the summer. My first memory of her is being outside

with her in the garden and being terrified of all the bugs. She was a fantastic gardener and

always grew flowers and vegetables to eat and share with others. The eating part was

sometimes stressful because it was often food I hadn’t seen before or didn’t like… especially

fried okra. Grandma would bark “Clean that Plate” and you did.

Grandma never let the grass grow under her feet. She worked hard her entire life. Her

legacy of hard work revolved around her love for her family and her commitment to the church.

She spent countless hours working with and serving her grandchildren, who she adored. I am

grateful for her sacrifices and her example of hard work that has blessed all of us in some way

or another. That we can continue to pass this on to our families I pray in the name……