MaryAnn Hayduke

MaryAnn (Mimi) Hayduke, 92, died Thursday, June 7, 2012, in her home in Durango, Colorado.

A Memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, June 14, 2012, at St. Columba Catholic Church with a reception following. Father James Koenigsfeld of St. Columba Catholic Church will be officiating. Cremation will occur at Hood Mortuary Crematory in Durango. Her final resting place and burial of ashes, will take place June 22, 2012, 11:00 AM at St. Barnabas on the Desert Church in Scottsdale, AZ.

Mrs. Hayduke was born February 7, 1920, in Puyallup, Washington, the daughter of Joseph & Anna (Jankovich) Bartolatz. MaryAnn grew up and attended Holy Cross Catholic School in Tacoma, WA. She graduated from Stadium High School, also in Tacoma, and worked as head cashier for the Rhodes Brothers Department Store from 1938 to 1943. While on a shopping trip to San Francisco with her girlfriends, she met the love of her life, 1st Lt. George Hayduke, at the Sir Frances Drake Hotel. Four months later, the two were married in Yuma, AZ. George became the head statistical officer of the southern West Coast for the Army/Air Force, and they lived on various bases in the Los Angeles, CA area. After the war they moved back to Coolidge, AZ, where George's family lived and George, Jr. was born. In 1950, George was commissioned to attend the University of Chicago and they moved there. At that time, their daughter, Alison, was born in Chicago. In 1953 the family moved to Phoenix, and then to Scottsdale in 1961.

It was in 1996 that MaryAnn and George moved to Durango, specifically to be closer to their daughter and son-in-law, and their newly adopted Russian granddaughters. While in Colorado, MaryAnn enjoyed the beauty of Colorado and the changing of the seasons, loved watching for the first snowflake, and had a passion for the local wildlife. MaryAnn was an excellent cook, gardener, and seamstress, and loved classical music and opera. She loved traveling with her husband and enjoyed the cuisine of each country. It was her passion for volunteering that kept her busy all those years in Arizona. She was a member of the Scottsdale DeMolay Mother's Club, the Daughters of the Nile (who contribute to the Shriners Hospitals for Children and volunteer, sew, and quilt other necessary items), the Scottsdale Memorial Hospital Women's Auxiliary and was the Coordinator for the Scottsdale Honors Cotillion (for senior girls in high school chosen for their leadership and academic achievement, who received further education in etiquette, the arts and community outreach) from 1971 to 1973. She enjoyed fishing, golfing and made her first hole-in-one at Scottsdale Country Club. She was a proud, active and devoted member of St. Barnabas on the Desert Church of Scottsdale. Her family fondly recalls, "Mimi was defined by her loving kindness and her sweet and fun spirit that she extended from Alison's college girlfriends to her own family and friends, and especially to her husband of 64 years."

She is survived by Alison Asselstine (daughter) of Durango, Wes Asselstine (son-in-law) of Durango, Anastasha Asselstine (granddaughter) of Durango, Annika Asselstine (granddaughter) of Durango, Agnes Iversen (sister) of Arcadia, CA, Susan Iversen Manley (niece) of Los Angeles, CA, Phillip Iversen (nephew) of Sherman Oaks, CA , Theodore D. Iversen (nephew) of Thousand Oaks, CA, George Hayduke, Jr. (son) of Tucson, AZ, Tracie Lambeth (granddaughter) of Dove Island, AK , Brandon Hayduke (grandson) of Tucson, AZ, and numerous nieces, nephews and great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband in 2008, one sister, four brothers and two nephews.

Memorial contributions may be made to: the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 33607 or to the Shriners Hospitals for Children, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607 or to the Hospice of Mercy, 1 Mercado St, Ste 270, Durango, Co 81301.