Mary Elizabeth (Iverson) Bean

Mary Elizabeth Bean, lately of Carrollton, Texas, died peacefully August 22, 2015. She was born July 30, 1922, in Appleton, Wisconsin, the eldest of six children of Lawrence Solway Iverson and Charlotte Roberts Kinch, of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Mary, Cedric Lawrence, Patricia Ann, John Melvin, Nancy Ruth, and Lawrence Solway Jr. grew up on the family dairy and cherry farm.

She attended the one-room Cherry schoolhouse and graduated from Sturgeon Bay High School. At work for Bell Telephone, she met her future husband of 55 years, Ralph Franklin Bean, who predeceased her in 1998. Courtship began at the old Cherry restaurant downtown Sturgeon Bay, where Ralph claimed he had to eat 2 slices of pie while getting the nerve to talk to her. They were married in Carthage, Missouri, August 7, 1943. They had two sons: James Arthur (1944) and John Edward (1946) in Illinois.

Mary had many stories of life on the farm. Among them were tramping through newly disced corn fields, cleaning out the barn after milking the cows, feeding chickens and gathering eggs. One of her favorites was riding to town on Saturdays with father on the one horse wagon bringing milk, eggs, and other goods to market for sale or barter. Dad always bought her an ice cream for the ride home. As the oldest child she was often called upon to herd her siblings. She learned many useful skills for dealing with the "little devils". Along the way, her mother apparently left out the cooking lessons one might have expected. As a new wife, her mother-in-law stepped in, to her great relief.

Mary was a homemaker and active in several civic and community activities during their 45 years in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Among those activities were:  President and state representative for the DuPage County Homemakers Association, 4-H programs for area youth, Cub Scout den mother, and the Women’s Auxiliary of the local American Legion and VFW chapters.

She enjoyed numerous arts and crafts hobbies including an extensive paper-doll collection as a young girl and a china-head doll collection later in life. She was a prolific scrap booker of her and her children’s activities.

Among the fond memories we have are the rice crispy treats after cub scout meetings, summer school task master, birthday parties, grade school behavior modification, summer camps on grandpa’s farm, supervised access to her doll collection, making plum jam from her backyard trees, chasing dragonflies by the duck pond, scooping sugar on our cherrios, feasting on the mulberries to a mother's dismay, pet ducks, cats, dogs, Sam the goose, band aids, pan fried chicken and rhubarb pie.

She continued her community involvement in Mena, Arkansas, upon their retirement there in 1990. Among other activities, she was the volunteer coordinator for the gift shop at the local hospital for many years. Mary retired from an active community life to an assisted-living facility in Carrollton, Texas, near her son James, in 2006, where she passed away at 93.

She is survived by her youngest brother Lawrence (Sharon Paschke). Her sons: James (Theresa Rybarczyk) and John (Olga Brokop). Grandchildren: Jennifer Lynn (Mathew Daugherty), Katharine Ann (Kevin Ten Eyck), and Andrew James, great-grandchild Lyla Eve Ten Eyck, and many nieces and nephews.

Mary’s persistent optimism, enthusiasm, and encouragement of others will be sorely missed.

Mary will be interred with Ralph in Douglas Cemetery near Eldorado, Illinois, August 29, 2015.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, please consider memorial donations made to any child advocacy charity or animal care charity in your local area.

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