Mary Kathleen Montgomery

Mary Kathleen Montgomery, 87, died Tuesday evening, May 21, in Aurora, Colorado, shortly after a diagnosis of Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma. She was a faithful woman who loved the Lord, her husband, her family, her friends, and her church, and she left peacefully to enter into the presence of our Lord, with family by her side.

Daughter and only child of Alice and Walter Curnane, Mary was born February 6, 1937 in Santa Maria, California. She enjoyed a happy childhood and remained in touch with lifelong friends from childhood and school. Although she struck out for foreign lands in her 20s, Mary was ever the “California girl” with a love of the sea, the sun, and the fresh air; a tendency for going barefoot, and a proclivity towards collecting sea shells, stones, driftwood, sea glass, and pinecones — a habit inherited from her mother and passed on to several of her children and grandchildren. Once home, these treasures were tastefully arranged on windowsills, tabletops, and in bookshelves.

A cheerleader at Santa Maria Union High School, back when cheerleading skirts went all the way to the knee, Mary graduated in 1954, and remained in her hometown to attend Alan Hancock College. She then transferred to Mount Saint Mary’s University in Los Angeles, where the nuns would pointedly drape a large handkerchief over the knees of any girl whose hemline they deemed too short. In 1958, Mary graduated with a degree in English Education. Although history had been her intention, Mount St. Mary’s required history students to have more years of French study than Mary had left of school, so she stuck with Latin and opted to focus on English. Mary told her daughters that teaching and nursing were really the only career possibilities available to women at the time. Fortunately for her, and for the hundreds of students whose lives she touched, Mary loved teaching in the classroom.

Mary’s career in education spanned more than 40 years, beginning in her hometown of Santa Maria and finishing at St. Pius X in Aurora. In her mid-20s, Mary left California for Landshut, Germany, where she taught for the American Dependents School system.

It was in Germany that Mary met U.S. Army Lieutenant John Montgomery. Three months after their first date, they married on May 21, 1963, and later moved to Stuttgart. As newlyweds, they enthusiastically ventured into various European countries, collecting memories, prints, records, and a variety of curiosities that would decorate the walls, shelves, and tables of their homes in the years to come. Just days after their first wedding anniversary, Mary and John welcomed their firstborn, Heidi. A little more than a month after their second anniversary, Kathleen was born, and shortly after, the small family left Europe and the military for Washington D.C. A year later, they boxed up their belongings yet again and moved to Oxen Hill, Maryland.

At the height of the civil rights riots, and while John attended law school, Mary taught at Patterson Elementary School in Washington D.C., during which time — a day after their fourth anniversary — their third daughter, Larisa, was born. In 1968, upon completion of John’s law degree, the family moved to Great Kills, Staten Island, New York, where Erin was born. Mary then took a hiatus from teaching for several years, while pouring her time and efforts into raising four energetic daughters. Like her mother and grandmother before her, Mary was skilled at sewing curtains for the windows and clothing for her family. She was an excellent and adventuresome cook, who did not skimp on portions. It’s a family joke that when newly married, Mary prepared enough for a family of six, but by the time there were six and then seven, she prepared enough for an army.

Before they were ten years wed, Mary and John moved house for the fifth and final time, heading west to the eastern edge of Aurora, Colorado, where the asphalt on Potomac Street gave way to a dirt road on the short drive between the family’s new home and St. Pius X Church. In no time, the Montgomery family took up camping and hiking in the Rocky Mountains, and John remembers with pride how the whole family climbed Devil’s Head with Mary six months pregnant with Douglas, who was born after all four girls had entered school. As a mother of five, Mary was patient and laid-back, but set clear limits as to what she would tolerate, and whining, shrieking, laziness, and complaining were definitely not among those behaviors. She clearly saw it as her responsibility to raise her children to be of strong moral character, mature, and independent. Having fond memories of her years in the Campfire Girls, Mary steered her children into Scouting, and served as a Brownie leader for a few years. Her medical wisdom exceeded anything found in any medical journal today: If it hurts, cut it off. If it hurts when you do this, then don’t do it. If medical attention was needed, it could wait until after catechism classes — faith before first aid. It might not have made sense in grade school, but it does now, and all five children are all the better for it!

Mary resumed teaching in the mid 1970s, finishing out her career at St. Pius X School, first as a substitute teacher, then full-time in middle school. After retirement in 2002, she returned to subbing for another several years. She especially enjoyed teaching 12- to 14-year-olds because their curiosity in the wider world was awakening, they were starting to think for themselves, but at that age, still had a healthy respect for adults. As a teacher, she was well liked by students, who appreciated that she never lost her temper when they stepped out of line. “Mrs. M,” as they affectionately called her, simply and quietly explained that the consequences of the class’s behavior would be a generous dose of homework. All five of the Montgomery children would have had Mary either as an English or as a Social Studies teacher while attending St. Pius.

As a member of St. Pius X Church since 1972, Mary gave of her time and abilities in a variety of capacities over the course of 52 years: Reader, Eucharistic Minister, Catechism (CCD) Teacher, Liturgy Committee, Parish Council, Wedding Coordinator, Home Communion Minister, Festival Committee, Church Collections Money Counter, and Adoration of the Eucharist.

When not taken up with responsibilities, Mary was often seated comfortably on the sofa with a cooking or home decorating magazine or a novel. She had an extensive collection of cookbooks, many collected as souvenirs from her travels, and which she often read sitting up in bed before going to sleep. She was a great one for planning and making lists, scattered about the house in various notebooks. These could be anything from meal plans, to notions for redecorating rooms, to gift ideas. This and her interest in travel blended together nicely. With the aid of a computer and a smart phone, Mary became skilled at planning getaways, vacations, and even her grandson’s honeymoon, from how to get there, right down to unique local places to dine along the way. Together, Mary and John visited all 50 of the U.S. States, and traveled to 53 countries, and 6 continents.

In good weather, Mary loved spending time in the back yard, among the flowers in her garden and the pots arranged artfully around the deck. She loved weeding even more because it was productive and she could see an instant improvement.

Proceeded in death by her parents, Alice & Walter, and an infant granddaughter, Ava Grace Ginther, Mary Kathleen, dedicated wife, mother, aunt, teacher, and friend, died the evening of her 61st wedding anniversary. She set a beautiful example of grace, kindness, strength, generosity, service, and amazing tact, laced with optimism and wit, and her family and friends miss her terribly: husband, John; her five children: Heidi (Steve), Kathleen (Chad), Larisa (Greg), Erin (Blaine) and Douglas (Amy); nine grandchildren: Alexis, Madison, Caleb, Cameron, Jacob, Isaiah, Will, Sophia, and Josie; and three great grandchildren Fern, Lorraine, and Griffin.

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