Mary Stromness

Mary Louise Noall Stromness

1922-2020

A long life fully lived!

Mary Louise Noall Stromness was born to Matthew F. and Claire Wilcox Noall, the third of their four children, on January 2, 1922.  She grew up on Third Avenue in Salt Lake City, and attended West High School and the University of Utah.  She married Richard John Stromness (“Dick”) on November 12, 1942 in the Salt Lake Temple.  They worked hard to build their home in the Bountiful foothills where Mary spent the rest of her life.  Dick and Mary were the parents of six children: Suzanne (Joel) Warnick, Marian (Ned) Myers, Margaret Paydar, Richard (Malayna) Stromness, Fred (Denise) Stromness, and Ilene (John) Ashby.  She had 19 grandchildren, 58 great-grandchildren, and 12 great-great-grandchildren.  Her family remained her first priority throughout her life; and her legacy for them includes the renewal and expansion of the ancestral family cabin in Mt. Aire Canyon.  The extended family will continue to frequently gather together there, thanks to her vision, leadership, example, and monetary gifts.  Four generations of her posterity knew their “Grandma Mary” well because she was an active part of their lives, retaining her keen mind to the end.  She died at the age of 98 on January 12, 2020.

Mary excelled in her educational pursuits, obtaining from the University of Utah her Bachelor’s in Economics and Statistics, her Master’s in Alternative Learning Curriculum, and her Doctorate in Educational Administration.  Her first career was teaching 4th and 5th grades at Stoker Elementary and Hannah Holbrook Elementary schools in Bountiful.  Many of her students still remember her as a wonderful and effective teacher.  She continued her contributions to education through her long association with Delta Kappa Gamma, an honorary education society, and more than 25 years of participation in the Women’s State Legislative Council.  In her later years, she enjoyed participating in and leading thoughtful discussions in the local seniors’ book group.

After her teaching career, Mary engaged herself in the family construction business, Build Inc., contributing her clear-thinking and business-related skills to enhance and ensure its success.   Throughout her life she enjoyed traveling and was fortunate to see much of the world, often taking family members or a friend on her wide-ranging adventures.

Mary developed and expressed herself through her hobbies.  Her backyard flower garden was beautiful and provided the setting for multiple family weddings over the years as well as a very pleasant respite on countless summer evenings.  Her knitting skills were extraordinary and she won many Blue Ribbons at the Utah State Fair, once being named a Grand Champion winner.  Her beautiful hand-knit sweaters were treasured gifts to her posterity.  In her younger years she was a skilled seamstress sewing dresses, costumes and doll clothes for her daughters.  She was also a fantastic cook.  She maintained her fitness through a dedicated swimming practice, twice a week without fail, for most of her life up to the age of 91.  She won Gold and Silver medals at the Huntsman Senior Games and was caught on camera saying, “I deserve a gold medal just for wearing a swimming suit in public at my age.”

Mary was a Great Lady, loved and admired by all who knew her and associated with her.  She was always a source of encouragement and an influence for good.

She was preceded in death by her husband Dick, her son Richard, her siblings and her parents.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, January 20, 2020 at the Bountiful 54th Ward Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 540 North 1200 East, Bountiful, Utah.   Friends may visit with the family on Sunday, January 19, 2020 from 6-8 P.M. at Lindquist’s Bountiful Mortuary, 727 North 400 East.  She will be laid to rest next to her husband at Lakeview Memorial Estates Cemetery, 1640 E. Lakeview Dr. Bountiful, Utah.