After enduring a long journey with the dreaded disease, Alzheimer’s, on Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 5:42 am, Mary took her last breath on Earth and ascended to the heavenly throne to eternally be with her beloved Lord, Jesus Christ.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Alvin and Martha (Deel) Yates, and her son, Mark Milliron.
Mary was born in Clintwood, Virginia on February 18th, 1935. Her family moved to Mansfield when she was in the third grade. She attended school in the Madison School District. Those were happy days and years where she met lifelong friends. While attending high school, she was a class officer, member of the National Honor Society, worked on committees for school dances and the Senior Prom. She also had the honor of being the first Madison Track Queen.
When she was a sophomore, she started dating Grant Milliron, her high school sweetheart. She graduated in the Spring of 1953 and married Grant on October 12th of that same year. They have been married for 67 years.
That union brought together two lives, and new purposes in life and something to live for. A year later, Mary gave birth to her first child. With that birth, she discovered her purpose and a reason for living- Motherhood. She brought six other healthy children into the world. Her style of motherhood never changed. She always maintained her pleasant personality with graciousness and loving kindness with a beautiful smile. It was that kindness which demonstrated the positive values in their lives. Her children always felt and knew they were unconditionally loved by their mother. Even in her final days, she still continued to give us her loving kindness, her beautiful smile, and she never forgot the words, “Thank you.”
Another important part of Mary’s life included building their dream home. She soon acquired the talent of home decorating. Each room reflected her personality, which was warm and inviting. She was quite the chef at preparing amazing holiday meals for her family. She had a knack of making everything so special and memorable. Home and family were everything to Mary.
Mary’s interests included being a member of the Main St. United Methodist Church. Her favorite task was helping serve the monthly meal to strangers in need, and she welcomed the opportunity to meet and talk with the guests. Other interests she enjoyed were caring for her potted flowers. She also savored traveling experiences both in this country and abroad that gave her the opportunity to see God’s wondrous creation. One of her favorite trips was the Redwood Forest. She enjoyed Spain, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Germany- to witness the diversity of the landscape and learn about the different cultures.
A pinnacle of her life was when the family had a one-on-one conversation with President George W. Bush at the Renaissance Theatre in 2004. He looked at Mary, and said, “Wow, you look like my mother, Barbara!” She smiled, and took that as a great compliment. Two months later, she attended a reception, as a guest of the President and his wife, Laura Bush, at the White House for the Christmas Tree Lighting event.
Mary’s legacy will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. Her devotion to God, family, all of His creation and kindness to all, her compassion, conversation and deeds, and most of all, her beautiful smile and kind personality, will never be forgotten.
Surviving children include Cyndy Hursh, Karen (Steve) Kleer, JR (Teresa) Milliron, Marsha (Jeff) Devito, Karl (Jill) Milliron, and Kate (Ken) Hlad who provided her with 10 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.
There will be a private Celebration of Life ceremony for family and invited guests at the Penwell Turner Funeral Home, 168 West Main Street, Shelby. Public calling hours and visitation will not be observed. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery, Shelby. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Main St. United Methodist Church, 230 S. Main Street, Mansfield, Ohio 44902, Hospice of North Central Ohio, 1050 Dauch Drive, Ashland, Ohio 44805, or a charity of the donor’s choosing.
Appropriate ways to express sympathy may be done by leaving an online condolence on Mary’s obituary at www.PenwellTurner.com or by leaving a comment on her post on the funeral home’s Facebook page, Facebook.com/PenwellFuneral.
