Mary Wilhelms McCune

Mary Wilhelms McCune, Age 91, of The Lakes, Freedom Village, Holland, and former resident of Beaver, PA, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, November 19 with her family at her side. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Mary was the youngest of five daughters of the late Frederick T. Wilhelms and Hortense Carlborg Wilhelms. She graduated from South Shore High School and Chicago Teachers College where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Education with concentration in elementary and early childhood. After marrying Duncan C. McCune in a double wedding ceremony with her sister, Jeanne, and Robert Weber in Chicago on August 23, 1947, the couple moved to Ohio where she served as a fifth-grade teacher in the Wooster Township Schools. From 1948 to 1952, she served as Secretary to the Department of Modern Languages at Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN where she coordinated the Convocation and Lectures Programs. The couple moved to Beaver in 1953 where they raised their three children in a lovely Victorian home on Second Street and were actively involved in church and community life. Mary embarked on a second career in 1977 when she was appointed Director and Teacher of the First Presbyterian Nursery School. For fifteen years, she nurtured 24 children two sessions a day and built her programs around the formation of children's social, mental, perceptual and developmental skills. She loved her work and expressed great joy and satisfaction when she encountered her former students years later. Mary and Duncan retired to Holland, Michigan in 2002 to be closer to two of her four sisters and their beloved summer cottages in Grand Haven, Michigan. She attended Hope Church, served as membership chair of HASP (Holland Area Senior Professionals) and participated in the Holland Women's Literary Club and Hope Readers.

She is survived by Duncan C. McCune, beloved husband of 70 years; son, Thomas D. McCune (Leora Hatchwell) of Buffalo Grove, IL; daughter, Anne M. McCune (Edward Klinenberg) of Menlo Park, CA, and son (the late) Andrew W. McCune. She was devoted grandmother of Callie Anne McCune, Indianapolis, IN. and also survived by two of her sisters, Jeanne Weber (Robert) of Holland, MI and Ruth Clark of Peabody, MA, and many nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life will be held at Freedom Village Holland, MI on December 16 at 2:00PM in the Auditorium. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Community Foundation of Holland/Zeeland: Freedom Village Residents Endowed Scholarship Fund. www.cfhz.org ; and Pine Rest Christian Behavioral Health Services: Pine Rest Foundation General Endowment Fund Serving Seniors and their Families. www.pinerest.org/foundation/donate/.