Mary Ellen (Harland) Stern Mason was born to Evelyn (Anderson) and Henry Harland in Valley City, ND. She was one of 15 siblings. She and 7 siblings were taken from their parents and put into the orphanage system of the North Dakota Children’s Home in Fargo. She was adopted when she was 6 to Emanuel (Manny) and Beverly (Johnson) Stern. She continued to live in Fargo, ND. She graduated from Fargo Central High School. She went to Interstate Business College. Mary went to work at St Luke’s Hospital as a medical clerk, then as a medical secretary to Dr. Jack Speir, the pathologist at the Dakota Clinic doing autopsies.
When her adopting father died when she was 14, she was told she was adopted and met with her biological siblings. The family had reunions regularly every couple of years, however there was only one reunion that all 13 live siblings got together.
She meet her husband, Allen Mason while he was going to NDSU. They married March 23, 1968 in Fargo, ND. They has two sons. Mary started flying an airplane when she was 16 and got her private pilot’s license. She belonged to the Ninety-Nines Women Flyers Association. After marriage, Allen also got his pilot’s license and went on to get his instructors license and multi engine. They enjoyed many years of flying and going to EAA adventures at Oshkosh, WI every year, flying to Canada with friends to go fishing and flying to family reunions.
Mary also went on with her education and became a Registered nurse. She worked at Hinsdale Hospital for 30 yrs in a variety of medical positions, then Bolingbrook free-standing ER and finally went to work for the Pain Specialists of Greater Chicago for 12 years working with patients with intrathecal infusion pumps. She had to retire in 2014 when she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and had to have kidney dialysis.
She was involved in the Chicago Pain Management Nurses group as secretary and then President of the group.
She enjoyed many outdoor activities including fishing, skiing and when her health did not permit physical activities she took up genealogy and reading.
She is preceded in death by her parents, both biological and adopted, brothers Willard Harland, Robert (Bob) Martin, sisters Henrietta (Harland) Hass, Marjorie (Harland) Stewart, Heather (Harland) Moon. She leaves her husband, Allen Mason and sons, Jack E. Mason (Julie), Shawn C. Mason (Amy) and three grandkids, Cameron, Colin Mason and Piper Mason. Her brother, Harvey Dahl, sisters Carol Anderson, Donna Potratz (Bud), Jean Johnson, Ella Mae, Linda Collum and Gloria Gillen.
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