Mary Jane Black

Mary Jane (Jinx, M.J.) was born in Ft. Madison, Iowa February 18, 1927. She and her parents moved to Springfield CO when she was young. They lived there through the difficult Dust Bowl era. She and her dad, Al Mincher, moved to Denver, CO where she attended East High School. The East HS crowd called her “Jinx”, a nickname that followed her the rest of her life. Upon graduation she attended the University of Denver. While there she became a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and continued as an active alum after graduation.

In 1948, Mary Jane married John A Black (d. 2001), a Denver South High School graduate. Aurora, CO was home for 18 years. Mary Jane prioritized raising their daughter, Jane, during the early years. Later, she re-entered the University of Denver to pursue a Masters Degree in Library Science. The Cherry Creek School District was fortunate to have her serve as the librarian for Cherry Creek Middle School for many years.

She and John had a cabin in Silverthorne, CO for decades where weekends were spent with family and friends. She was known for her enthusiasm for all things Colorado – mountains, birding (Tuesday Birders), wildflowers, skiing, fly fishing, golfing, hiking (always with a nature book in hand), CU Buffaloes and Denver Broncos. Her love for the mountains spurred them to spend the first years of their retirement in Summit County.

She loved to travel including multiple trips to Mexico and Africa, Italy, and all 50 states in the U.S. Central Park in NYC was a favorite birding spot. The ocean was a strong counterpoint to the Rockies. She made annual trips to her father’s home in Laguna Beach, CA where she could walk the beach and watch the sea birds. She and John spent a lot of time in their VW camper crossing the country exploring and birding.

Her last 15 years were spent in Cherry Creek North. The Cherry Creek friends called her M.J. She and her good friend Richard (Dick) Foster (d.2019) chummed around enjoying the area together. They were a core part of the morning coffee group that met daily at the corner of 3rd and Fillmore. She and Dick were icons at the Cherry Creek Grill and Piatti restaurants. Everywhere she went she made lifelong friends. Her positive attitude toward life, her great sense of humor, her inclusiveness, her caring, her love of people, her love of family…will be sorely missed.

She is survived by her daughter, Jane, her grandsons John (Lorna) and Matthew (Jessie), and her great grandchildren Rhett, Shay, Stella and June.

The Celebration of Mary Jane’s Life (tbd) will be posted on this site.