In 1962, Mary married Lowell Aten and they celebrated 60 years in March of this year. She was a fantastic wife and mother who loved helping people. Mary was joined at the hip emotionally with her husband and daughter.
Surviving are Lowell Aten and Lynn Aten, both of Macomb, IL and 5 sisters; Santa (and Bill) Carbaugh of Shippensburg, PA, Perri Prigge of Manitowac, WI, Stella Thot of Las Vegas, NV, Sami Stamm of Chalk Hill, PA and Patti Lane of Henderson, NV.
Mary graduated from Uniontown High School and entered active duty with the United States Air Force, where she served as Airman First Class through 1962. While serving, she was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base and Amarillo Air Force Base, both in Texas, and Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois.
For the Department of Defense, Mary was an Administrative Assistant and Secretary at Chanute Technical Training Center. She then moved to Clark Air Base in the Philippines where she served as Secretary to several Chaplains. Returning to the United States and living in Northern Virginia, Mary worked as Secretary for the Mobility Engineering Command at Fort Belvior. After this, she worked at the Army Systems Command at Fairfax Co., VA. Her next move was to the Pentagon as Executive Secretary to the Department of the Army Intelligence Agency. After this, she moved to Nebraska and worked for the Air Force Director for Missile Maintenance for the Strategic Air Command, United States Air Force.
When Mary returned to Illinois, she went back to school and completed her Masters Degree in Language Arts. She taught language arts for 20 years in the Astoria Community School District. She also served as Junior High Play Director and coached the Speech Competition teams. She retired in 2004.
Mary was a voracious reader. She was an excellent quilter and homemaker. Well respected and well liked, her home always had an open door policy where everyone was welcome and she enjoyed hosting gatherings. She was a member of the Wesley United Methodist Church in Macomb where she chaired and co-chaired many committees. Mary was also a conservative and patriot.
Services will be held on Friday, May 13th at 2:00 pm at Shawgo Memorial Home in Astoria, IL. Casual attire is requested. Reverend Melle Momo will officiate. Visitation will be held on Thursday, May 12th from 5-7 pm at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Rushville City Cemetery, Rushville, Illinois with military rites provided by the Astoria American Legion Post #25. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (Pancan.org).
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