Mary Byers

Mary Salena Byers was born October 30, 1931, the daughter of John Reed and Amy (Anstey) Byers and passed away Saturday March 22, 2014, at the Heritage House in Atlantic, Iowa.

She graduated from the Cumberland High School, receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from the Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, Iowa, and her Master’s Degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. Mary was a professor at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, for 34 years. She was a member of St. Timothy’s Catholic Church south of Cumberland, Iowa.

Mary loved living in the country. She maintained the family farm south of Cumberland and helped care for her mother and Aunt Vivienne. She enjoyed bird watching and pampering her cats. Mary was an avid reader and her favorite author was Faulkner.

She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Amy Byers, and her grandparents.

Mary is survived by many cousins, other relatives and friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, March 29, 2014, at Saint Timothy’s Catholic Church with burial in the Saint Timothy’s Catholic Cemetery, both south of Cumberland, Iowa. Family will greet friends at a lunch in the church fellowship hall following the committal service.

Memorials may be made to St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Mary’s memory.