Mary Eleanor Read Nieman, 96, endearing wife, mother, grandma, and great-grandma passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at Vintage Hills of Indianola, surrounded in song by her loving family just days before her 97th birthday. The third of five children of Martin William Read and Inez Eleanor (Long) Read, Mary was born on June 20, 1927, in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and grew up in a Depression-era tenant farming family, graduating from Arnold’s Park High School in 1945. She then pursued a degree in home economics education from William Penn College. Growing up in the Friends Church and attending a pacifist college during the War helped to shape her open-minded outlook. Mary was a modern woman before her time, having a 10-year career in teaching prior to getting married and raising a family.
She met Merle Duane Nieman in Ames where they soon fell in love and were married on July 5, 1959. Their first date was a bowling banquet blind date arranged by a good friend. Merle suggested that they meet for ice cream prior to this, and true to her frugal self, Mary brought a coupon for the scoops. They were married for 56 years. She continued to pursue her advanced degree while pregnant with her first daughter and earned her master’s in textiles and clothing from Iowa State University in 1961. The couple moved to Ankeny where they would raise their family and establish a home.
Mary was an impressive seamstress and had an impeccable sense of style as evidenced by the beautifully crafted suits and dresses you could find in her closets. These outfits were typically finished with special details - a matching hat, shoes, purse, and jewelry. Her daughters Marcia and Marlys - and later the grandchildren - had great fun exploring Mary’s closets and playing endless hours of dress-up. Her grandchildren would comment on Grandma’s magical basement, full of treasures like fabric, costumes, toys, and copious egg cartons (just in case the Camp Fire girls needed them for a craft project). Grandma was always good for a cookie jar treat and a very soft hug. She was devoted to her husband, home, daughters and grandchildren. Mary created beautiful garments for special occasions from prom and bridesmaids dresses to her own wedding gown and mother-of-the-bride dresses. Thankfully, she taught her daughters to sew through 4H projects, painstakingly ripping out seams until they learned to sew a straight line. To this day, they are grateful for her teaching of this dying craft. She even held a summer sewing camp for her granddaughters to continue the legacy. These creative skills showed up in
her volunteering: Camp Fire Girls leader, perennial costume maker, and teaching assistant to her daughter Marcia in her Des Moines Central Campus fashion arts class.
Mary prioritized relationships over her to-do list and would dawdle around the intimate dining room table for as long as you like. She lovingly prepared her traditional English feast which included her famous Yorkshire puddings and roast beef gravy. She was a people person and was known to linger in group settings until the end, playing bridge until the wee hours and the last one on the dance floor at her grandchildren’s weddings. Her buoyant personality and big voice were known for some unique Mary sayings such as “good gravy” and “kitty wampus.”
Mary and Merle were avid Iowa State Cyclone fans with season tickets to all the football and basketball games. Together they faithfully served their church for decades, Mary focusing on her work with the United Methodist Women, teaching Sunday school, and lending her creative input on the stain glass window committee. Her ever-present heart for service continued in her later years while assisting her daughter Marcia with the Open Table community meal at her church in Indianola.
Mary was preceded in death by her beloved husband Merle Duane Nieman, her parents, Martin William and Inez Eleanor Read, and by her siblings James Read, David Read, Phyllis (Read) Haden, and Richard Read. Mary is survived by her daughters, Marcia (Ron) Peeler of Indianola and Marlys (Christopher) Lietz of Boulder, Colorado; grandchildren Erin (Steve) Ball Peeler, Andra (Greg) Peeler DiMarco, Emma (Tyler) Lietz Bilecky, Andrew (Haley) Peeler, Calvin (Sarah) Lietz and Clara Lietz; great-grandchildren Levino and Rocco DiMarco.
Mary’s celebration of a life well lived will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at Ankeny First United Methodist Church. Visitation will be held on Friday, June 28, from 6:00-8:00 pm at Ankeny Funeral Home. Donations in honor of Mary can be made to Indianola First United Methodist Church’s Open Table community meal program, https://indfumc.org/give/ or to Ankeny First UMC’s United Women in Faith, www.ankenyfirst.org/giveonline.htm. Please go to the church’s giving page and use the drop-down menu, or you may send/deliver a check.
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