Mary E. Hovey

Mary E. Hovey formerly of Marion, Iowa passed away May 13th, 2025, at the home of her daughter Jessie and son-in-law Ed Green in Temperance, Michigan. She was surrounded by loved ones.

Mary was born January 19, 1930, in Marinette, Wisconsin to William and Hertha (Priewe) Dumke. They raised her in their church, Marinette’s Trinity Lutheran. Lessons she learned at Trinity’s Christian Day School, the bible stories, prayers, music, and her teacher’s love were embedded in her heart and quickened a deep, abiding, and quiet faith.

She was the eldest girl in a family with nine children during the Depression. She helped to care for younger brothers and sisters and was expected to take on many household tasks. By age 11 she was earning money outside the home as a mother’s helper. She then worked as a waitress (legally not old enough but who was going to tell during the Depression and then the war?) and then a nurse aide. Patient care was a passion, but seeking independence, she left that job and her family home to be on her own in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She got a job as a waitress in a burger joint, as the post-war boom was in full swing. There she met and married the love of her life, Edward B. Hovey (Eddie), a World War Two veteran.

Mary had two babies 10 months apart, James Edward and Jean Ann. With both babies in tow and pulling a silver home-on -wheels, she set up home in Texas, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Louisiana, wherever Eddie’s job located him. In Louisiana, she had her third child, a little girl, Jessica.

When Jim became school age, the family moved to settle in Marion, Iowa. She made sure her children grew up knowing God’s love and she and her family were members of the St Paul’s Lutheran Church. Mary not only kept house, cooked meals, raised a garden and cared for her husband and children, she worked outside the home. This included 19 years as a proud union member at Square D, now part of Schneider Electric, where she retired in 1992. When Jim and Jean went off to college, Mary went to night school and quickly earned her GED (you go Mom!).

Upon retiring from Square D, Mary centered her life around her grandchildren, Molly, Amanda, who lived in Michigan, and Hallie who came later and lived in Richmond, Virginia. Spending her time between Richmond and Temperance, Michigan she took an active role in their lives. From caring for them as infants to taking them on adventures, they always felt loved, supported and nourished. Mary made everyone in her life feel celebrated, remembering countless birthdays, anniversaries and new arrivals. Her phone and mailbox were always ready to receive calls and letters from family and friends seeking advice or encouragement or just to share some news. She was there for everyone.

She avidly followed the news, was politically savvy, and never shied away from speaking her mind when it came to a candidate’s decency, honesty, or civic values. Values she learned during the Depression and as her part of her life as a Christian. She spoke often about the hot soup she received at school during the New Deal. Whenever unemployment was low, she would quote her father saying how important it was that there be a job for anyone willing and able to work. She also seldom called an Iowa election wrong.

Mary is preceded in death by her husband Edward, her son James, her parents William and Hertha, her brother William Lemke and her sisters Esther Dumke, Alice (Rodger) Rastall and Joan (Ken) Guilliame.

Her memory lives on through her daughters Jean (William Murray) Hovey and Jessie (Edward) Green, her granddaughters Molly (Jessie) Duke, Amanda (Jeff) Boester and Hallie Hovey-Murray; her great grandchildren Eliza Mae, Waylon Townes, and Remedy Noel; her siblings George (Mary) Dumke, Karen (Rick) Kuran, David Dumke and Roy (Holly) Dumke and so many nieces and nephews.

The family will receive visitors at Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service 3855 Katz Drive Marion, Iowa 52302 on Friday May 23rd, 2025, from 11:30am to 1:30pm. A celebration of life service and internment to immediately follow at Oakshade Cemetery 789 2nd Ave Marion, Iowa 52302.

In leu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:

Medical Home Plus in Richmond Virginia +1 804-330-5030 https://medhomeplus.org/

Waypoint Services in Cedar Rapids Iowa +1 319-365-1458 https://www.waypointservices.org/

Hugs and Kisses Grandma, until we meet again!