Mary Helen Scovel

Mary Helen Gardner Scovel passed away under the care of Pathways Hospice and the staff at Good Samaritan Village on October 29, 2018. She was 92 years old.

Mary was born on March 25, 1926 in New Hampton, Iowa, to Charles and Lydia (Neely) Gardner. She was the youngest of six children, with older brothers Guy, Fred, Forest, Bill, and Bob, all of whom preceded her in death. She graduated from Mingo (Iowa) High School in 1945. She taught elementary and special ed classes for many years. Her earliest classes in Jasper County were taught in one-room school houses. She eventually taught in Baxter, where she met her husband, Donald Scovel. The couple eventually moved to Cedar Falls, where Don taught at the Malcolm Price Laboratory School, and Mary taught special ed at River Hills school.

Don and Mary adopted their only son, Leonard, in 1963, and Mary stayed home to raise him. In 1971 she returned to the work force at the Black Hawk County Treasurer's Office, in the License Plate department. She retired for good in 1988. In 1998 she moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, to live with Leonard's family, and to help raise her granddaughter Samantha.

Over the years Mary was involved in several organizations including the American Business Women's Club, and the Rebekah's Lodge. She was also a member of the American Baptist Church.

In 2015 she moved from her son's home to the Good Samaritan Village, Fort Collins, where she made many friends, both among the residents as well as with the staff.

Mary is survived by her son Leonard, her grandchildren Amelia Ferrie Lee, Will Ferrie, and Samantha Scovel, and by great-grandchildren Reed and Noemi Lee.

She will be interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Cedar Falls, next to her husband.

A celebration of her life is scheduled for 2 p.m., Sunday, November 25, 2018 at Good Samaritan Village Chapel, 508 W. Trilby Road. Friends may send condolences to the family at bohlenderfuneralchapel.com.