In her later years, Grandma Anna had given Betty an interesting peep into Mary's arrival. The family was living in a tent near the North Canadian River somewhere in the Econtuchka area when it became apparent Mary's arrival was eminent. On this stormy night, Grandpa Dan had to ford the swollen river to reach the Kobler's residence. He returned with Mrs. Kobler to assist in the birthing.

Loving the great outdoors was characteristic of Mary. She grew up working on the farm, but seemed to take even that in stride. She loved gardening and flowers. An early picture of her shows a laughing girl on horseback.

All her life she maintained a happy spirit with great zest for living. Mary loved fun times--evidenced by her playfulness with children. In her later years she would don a mask on Halloween and hand out homemade popcorn balls to kids who came to her door. Her little dogs were especially important to her.

Mary was hardworking and industrious. She was the only one of seven siblings to graduate from high school; a member of the 1926 Shawnee High School class. She would later have a number of jobs--mail carrier on the Shawnee to Asher run, clerk in a department store, real estate sales person, along with various other things.

Mary was a faithful member of the Church of Christ.

Mary and Herb celebrated 69 years of marriage. Moving from Shawnee to California in the '40's, they would later return to make Shawnee their home. Their number one joy was Betty, along with Bill, Sandy, and Mike. Though not always living in the same area, they maintained a close, loving relationship with Betty's family.

- Janet Tate