Mary Ann Grace Scarbrough breathed her last breath sometime early morning April 10, 2024 just a few months short of her 98th birthday. Mary Ann was born to George and Clara Horn on August 3, 1926 in Greeley, Colorado. She was the oldest of four children. The family eventually moved to Loveland where George was a barber and owned his business. Mary Ann was 10 years old when her dad sold his barbershop and with his wife became pioneer pastors for many years in various mountain towns. The Horn family lived in Ouray, Debeque, and Nucla, Colorado. Mary Ann graduated from Nucla High School in 1944.
The family then moved to the plains of Akron, Colorado. Mary Ann always said she felt like a bird freed from its cage when they moved out of the mountains. In Akron, she worked for Mountain Bell for 8 years as a telephone operator, first with a “DROP” system, which was later converted to a switchboard with lights. (Her dad encouraged her to sell her stock in the company because he was convinced it would be worthless!)
In Akron, Mary Ann met her future husband, Lenos Scarbrough. The couple married on May 23, 1948. After three and a half years of marriage, Uncle Sam came calling and Lenos joined the Air Force in Dec. of 1951. His basic training was in San Antonio, Texas, then he was sent to Edward’s Air Force Base near Lancaster, CA, where the couple’s first daughter, Lynda, was born in 1953. Lenos was deployed for a year to the South Pacific Island of Eniwetok while Mary Ann and Lynda lived with Mary Ann’s parents in Longmont. After Lenos’s discharge the family settled in Longmont and a second daughter, Karla, was born in 1956.
Lenos was a handyman of sorts and helped support the family with carpentry projects on the side, in addition to his day job at Ball Brothers Research Corp. in Boulder. Mary Ann helped him build two houses for the family, constructed after working hours and on the weekends. Mary Ann painted, sanded, varnished, filled nail holes with putty, helped lay brick, in addition to helping with bigger jobs. After the houses were built, Mary Ann transformed them into loving homes, where she enjoyed decorating, cooking, and entertaining family and friends. Her Christmas breakfasts for the extended family were a holiday treat.
Mary Ann spent her married life as a homemaker raising two children. She was selfless in caring for her family and was an organized homemaker. Monday was cleaning day, Tuesday was laundry, Wednesday was ironing day, and Thursday was a catch-up day. On Friday she had her hair done, deposited Lenos’s paycheck, and did the grocery shopping. Sunday was the day the family attended church.
The couple was active in their church, Bethel Temple, and were involved in many volunteer projects and ministries. Mary Ann taught Sunday School for years and served on the church’s wedding committee. She made wedding mints for the receptions. Mary Ann’s faith in Jesus was strong and she was a student of the Bible and spent long hours in prayer. Her daughters remember her red Amplifed Bible and Matthew Henry commentaries open on the kitchen table. Many passages were highlighted with red pencil. Mary Ann memorized several Psalms before dementia affected her memory and ability to quote them.
Lenos may have been the primary breadwinner, but Mary Ann kept track of the family finances. She kept a yearly budget book, and a notebook in the car’s glove compartment where she recorded every expense. She made sure the family was never in debt except for a house payment and an occasional small loan to help pay for bigger items.
Mary Ann had a wry sense of humor and often played pranks on family members. She enjoyed gardening and canned the best green beans. She was also skilled in making afghans for family and friends. She kept photo albums of the family’s adventures and travels. Over the years she and Lenos enjoyed home improvement projects, (for themselves and family members), traveling in their RV in addition to boating and water skiing. After the girls were grown, they made several trips to Hawaii and enjoyed a couple of cruises to Alaska and Mexico.
Mary Ann and Lenos were married 71 years before Lenos’ death in Feb. of 2020. In addition to her husband, Mary Ann is preceded in death by her parents, George and Clara Horn, all her siblings, Bill Horn, Jeannie Brown, and Dave Horn, plus one son-in-law, Frank DeRemer. She is survived by her daughters, Lynda DeRemer, Karla Sarchet (husband Jim), five grandchildren, Jene Sarchet, Charis Derry (husband Chris), Greg Sarchet, Elliot DeRemer (wife Taylor), and Derek Sarchet (wife Hyojin). She is survived by three great grandchildren.
The family would like to thank TRU Hospice services for their care this last year during Mary Ann’s failing health.
A private burial service will be held in the next week with a memorial service to be held at Howe’s Mortuary on Friday, May 31st at 11:00 am. All who knew Mary Ann are invited to attend. The family requests donations to www.newstoryhomes.org, a charity granddaughter, Jene, is employed by or to www.mercyships.org, in lieu of flowers.
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