Obituary for
Mary E. England
Mary Elizabeth England died Wednesday, August 29, 2012, at the Valley Inn Nursing Home in Mancos, Colo. She was 83.
Ms. England was born February 8, 1929, in Carrollton, Ill., the daughter of Dr. H. H. Levi and Garnet (Keller) Levi. She graduated as valedictorian of Carrollton High School in 1948. She went on to MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where she received a Bachelor of Arts in home economics. She married Dr. Robert Gale England October 25, 1952, in Richmond Heights, Mo. The marriage later ended in divorce. She moved to Durango in 1991.
Ms. England was a homemaker, home economist, interior decorator, and an elementary school teacher. She enjoyed playing bridge, travel, gardening, and cats. She also enjoyed hand-quilting and once won second prize at the La Plata County Fair for one of her quilts.
Family members recall, “She had a sassy sense of humor and an outgoing personality throughout her entire life. She went to a Grateful Dead concert in the seventies where she was the only attendee in a pant suit with a matching purse.” The staff at the Valley Inn who cared for her in her final days described her as a "firecracker."
Ms. England is survived by her three sons: Edward England of Shorewood, Ill., Andy England of Durango, Colo., and Frederic England of Springfield, Ill., four grandchildren, one cousin, and numerous nephews and nieces.
At her request, there will be no service at this time. An informal memorial service will take place in the fall.