Mary Ann Hale

Mary was born April 19, 1946, in Esky to the late Ned and Eva (Thivierge) Short, who brought her home to Rapid River. If not there, Gladstone, was where she grew up and spent most of her days, living simply, but fully: enjoying family and friends, with homestyle food & drinks & laughs, surrounded by the flurries of snowflakes and fireflies, amongst the deep dark woods of rural U.P.

Growing up, life was filled with outdoor activity and good-natured humor. At her friend Mary Jo Wils’ farm, who she went to school with all through Rapid River Elementary and Middle School, to Holy Name, and NMU beyond, they walked her horse, Dolly; played and napped in the hay barn — and laughed. Laughed and laughed about nothing in particular for hours and hours. “People must’ve thought we were crazy,” said Mary Jo. But that was just Mary’s way: no foul words or foul deeds — just light in spirit, smiling. She was always remembered for being friendly, cheery, and making the best of things.

After graduating from Holy Name HS in 1964, Mary attended Northern Michigan University for a year, earning her MRS degree, hanging out with the guys from the Air Force Base, and then tooled around Southern California a bit in a VW, staying with her eldest brother, Dan, and his wife.

Work, not play — that was a bit more of a challenge. Mary didn’t hold a lot of jobs. As an early beautician, her time playing “Beauty Shop” did not go well. In HS, Mary worked at Jack’s restaurant; but afterwards, Jack Jr. leveled with her father that she was the worst waitress he ever had. And when helping out locals working for Michigan Bell, should they “lose” their payphone dime for the second, third, fourth time, she would point out that she’d received such a call of theirs before – and although she would patch them through to their mother, she didn’t necessarily want to hear from them again. Most of her marriage, Mary helped her then-husband, R. John Hale, with the clerical work and bookkeeping of his family sign business, Hale Outdoor Advertising Co. All merely distractions.

Mary’s real calling was to be a mom. Thus, her true life “work” began in December after marrying John on February 17, 1968. Mary’s time as a mom was quintessential. Those moments were filled with bedtime stories from Beatrix Potter and A.A. Milne, off key birthday songs, help with long division, cross country coaching, and road trips. Mary was the kind of mom who, on a leisurely walk with her pre-preschool child entirely uninterested in attending school, would pick up a small stone and present it, saying, “See this? This is our love rock. I want you to keep it in your pocket. And when you’re in school and you have sad feelings, or don’t feel like being in school at that moment, I want you to reach in your pocket, feel this rock, and know that I love you and I’m thinking of you. And soon your school day will be over and you’ll be home.” Mother or grandmother to everyone, Mary did finally work a job that matched her calling as Religious Education Facilitator at All Saints Catholic Church in Gladstone, helping all the young CCD students.

Largely the only thing to sour her mind came much later in life, when dementia reared its ugly head like a sleeping dragon. Mary found the changes unexplainable to herself or others. Still, even in her final months, Mary’s humor was evident when she would coyly remark to her son-in-law, Tony, about the curiosity of there not being a beer in her hand… even if it was noon. She would remind naysayers that it was 5 o’clock somewhere.

She is survived by her four children, Karen (Don) Reynolds of Titusville, Florida, Evelyn (Tony) Stigler of Kenton, Tennessee, Ken (Nicole) Hale of Stoughton, Wisconsin, and Jackie (Joe) Hintz of Green Bay, Wisconsin; four grandchildren, Kayla Reynolds of Marquette, Michigan, Eva (Kasey) Dwyer of Milton, Florida, Nicholas Reynolds of Menasha, Wisconsin, and Kasey (Ely) Brooks of Allenhurst, Georgia; one brother, Pat (Mary) Short of Taos, New Mexico; one sister, Neva (Keith) Short of Chandler, Arizona; and two sisters-in-law, Sally Short of Sunland, California, and Betsy (Bob) Salonen of Iron Mountain, Michigan; and there are nieces and nephews and cousins, and many more extended family.

Unfortunately, Mary said goodbye to one brother before her, the late Daniel Short of Sunland, California; one sister-in-law, Barbara Peltz of Gladstone; and the father of her children, John Hale of Escanaba, Michigan.

Condolences may be directed to the family at halefamilyx4@hotmail.com. Services begin at 10 a.m., Friday, July 11th with a Memorial Mass at All Saints Catholic Church in Gladstone, officiated by Father Marty Flynn. Following the burial trip, the family welcomes family and friends to gather at 1 p.m. at Mary’s home on 811 Superior Ave, Gladstone, for homestyle food & drinks & laughs. It’ll be 5 o’clock somewhere.