Mary Anne Rainey died suddenly at home in Clancy, Mont. July 23, 2016. She was 72.
Mary Anne was born Nov. 29, 1943, to Chester and Mary Crouse in Artesia, Calif. The family lived in Bellflower, Calif. While Chester worked in the aircraft industry. In 1950, they returned to Laurel, Mont., the area where Chester and Mary had grown up.
In 1956, the Crouses bought a ranch outside Livingston, Mont., and moved there. Mary Anne attended school in Livingston, graduating from Park County High School in 1962. After graduation, she attended business school in Billings, Mont., then worked in offices, including a trucking company, around Livingston.
Mary Anne worked for Hamilton Stores in Yellowstone National Park between 1964 and 1967, spending summers in the warehouse in West Yellowstone and winters in the Mammoth Store. There she met William Rainey, who grew up in Clifton, New Jersey, and first ventured to Montana State University in 1959. He had just come back to Montana after returning from U.S. Army service in Germany.
Bill and Mary Anne married Sept. 17, 1967, in the Holbrook Congregational Church in Livingston. The couple moved to Bozeman, Mont., where Mary Anne worked in retail at a western wear store. The next year they moved to Dillon, Mont., where Bill attended Western Montana College and Mary Anne worked for the telephone company, a job she would return to a few years later in Bozeman as they moved around while Bill continued his education and started his teaching career. They also lived in Harrison and Three Forks in those early years of their marriage.
She stopped working outside the home when they decided to start a family, and daughter Anita was born in 1973 while they lived in Heart Butte on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation. Susan was born in 1976 shortly after the family moved to Geraldine, Mont. In 1978, they settled in Clancy.
While raising her children, she also provided daycare, nurturing a neighborhood of kids she loved like her own. She volunteered in her daughters’ classrooms at Clancy Elementary School and served as a 4-H leader for many years. A natural caregiver, she also cared for her mother, enabling Mary to live as home as she aged.
When Shopko opening in Helena, Mont., Mary Anne took a customer service job there. She worked at the store for 17 years, first at the service desk and then in the pharmacy as a licensed certified pharmacy technician. She connected with so many customers over the years that she recognized and greeted people everywhere she went around town.
After retiring, she enjoyed traveling and birdwatching with her husband and visiting family. She always enjoyed sewing, doing crafts, including American Indian-style beadwork, gardening, and baking. Visitors couldn’t show up at her home without being offered cookies. She played board and card games with friends and family and had fun with puzzles of all sorts.
She is survived by her husband Bill,; daughter Anita and son-in-law Scott Burke, of Medford, Ore.; and daughter Susan Rainey and partner Brian Asbury, of Golden, Colo. Her parents Chester Arthur Crouse and Mary Anita Davenport Crouse preceded her in death, as did brothers Darryl and Donald, twins who died in infancy.
A Memorial Service is set for 11 a.m. Saturday July 30, at Clancy United Methodist Church, 6 N. Main St., Clancy, Mont. Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home is handling arrangements. Memorial contributions can be made in Mary Anne’s name to a charity of your choice, to the Clancy United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 30, Clancy, MT, 59634, or to the Last Chance Audubon Society, P.O. Box 924, Helena, MT, 59624.
To offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Mary Anne please visit below.
Service Schedule
Celebration of Her Life
11:00 a.m.
Saturday July 30, 2016
Clancy United Methodist Church
Clancy, Montana
Service Schedule
Celebration of Her Life
11:00 a.m.
Saturday July 30, 2016
Clancy United Methodist Church
Clancy, Montana
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Audrey F Finlayson says
Bill, Susan, Anita, I just found out about this terrible loss. Saturday, I was driving by on my way to Boulder and was telling my friend how much I enjoy the letters and that we share the live of bird watching. I will do what I can to get mom to the service. Sending you all love and hugs and my sincerest condolences.
Patty and Bill Kamrath says
Mary Anne will be much missed by her classmates of Livingston Montana Class of ’62. We were all so lucky to grow up in the time we did and we share great memories. Rest in peace, sweet Mary Anne.
Marcella Kopacek Lamm says
MaryAnn was a classmate and friend. I remember staying with her and making a visit to the chicken house. As we stepped inside and turned on the lights mice ran everywhere, she was ready for it but I wasn’t!! I tore my coat and her dear sweet momma mended it for me. Prayers for family and friends
Gen Christison says
I also was a friend and classmate of Mary Anne. She was a very sweet person and I enjoyed re-connecting with her in Helena…she always had a smile. She will be missed! Prayers for comfort and peace to her family during this difficult time. May you have many sweet memories to look back on!
Andrea mcewen says
I worked with maryanne for two years at shopko. She was a sweet courageous soul. She was always smiling and so full of life. I will miss u so much my friend. U were an amazing person and I’m so glad we were able to be in each others life those two years.
Bev and Roy Reich says
Maryann and Bill joined our family when our son Scott and Anita married here in Brookings, ore. in 1997. What a true blessing she and Bill have been.We very much have enjoyed our visits and all the notes, cards and letters . We were looking forward to many more,. But we will savor precious memories and try to trust in Gods plans..We loved her and were blessed by her love and friendship as part of our “Ohana” family. we will miss her greatly.!! and try to adjust ,sadly to life without her sweet smile and lovely warmth. Heaven has another sweet angel..
Jay and John Miller says
Bill, Susan and Anita,
I may not know you all very well even though I married Tom but you all have been my family and I love you all. I know the Love your family has for each other and always. I know she will be missed a lot and no words can take the emptyness away but know many people love you all and are there for you. I wish I could have flown out but school is ready to start here and we are getting all the kiddo’s ready. Young Tom still has his dream of going to Montana one day. I only hope he makes it and can spend time with an uncle he is wanting to get to know better. We send all our love.
Sumner Sharpe says
BIrding with Mary Anne and Bill was one of my best memories of coming to live full-time in Helena. They were among the first people I spent time with, and she was in many ways the eyes and ears of our tours, She was the glue that kept us on track as she kept tarck of our sightings. But more than that, Mary Anne was warm, friendly and welcoming to people she had not met before going on a walk with them. I will be out of town tomorrow, but my thoughts are with Bill and family.
Cheryl Cornish says
Mary Anne had a very kind heart and a beautiful smile! She was always a joy to visit with! God bless Bill and their daughters. May He give you comfort and strength!
Debbie Anderson says
Bill,
The partners of International Migratory Bird Day, and the Montana Discovery Foundation are sending you heartfelt sympathy. You and Mary Anne have shared your birding knowledge for many years volunteering for IMBD and we will miss Mary Anne. Our thoughts are with you, Bill.
Shirley Battershell says
Dear Bill, Anita and Susan, I am so sorry for your loss. We all feel the loss because Mary Anne was such a sweet person, as were her parents. I guess she came by it naturally. She always spoke and had a giggle and a smile. I remember you two bringing a baby gift when I was doing infant foster parenting. She was so thoughtful and I still have Christmas tree ornaments made by Anita and Susan. And Bill taking my grandson hunting. What a wonderful family.
rabayah says
susan…i’m tearing up just thinking about you. i’m so sorry you had to lose your mom. i really wish i could have met her, but its so lovely to read about your her life here. i only heard the best things about her from you, and i knew she had to be such a super lady because you had so many good qualities (sometimes motherly, especially for me!!), that i can never thank you or your mother enough for. i know she must have been sweet and tough because you’re the toughest woman i know, seriously. i know you will get through this with all your best qualities – strength and grace and humor. wish i could give you a hug. <3333
Barb Sproles says
Dear Bill & family, We will sure miss Mary. Mary always had a smile when I saw her. She was an inspiration every time I saw her at ShopKo or outside of work. She was a great cook. She always remembered us Pharmacy employees around the holidays with a plate of cookies & candy. I loved listening to her stories of the family or the old days at ShopKo. I feel a true honor to have had her in my life.
God Bless & our sympathy to you all,
Barb & family
Clyde & Sally angove says
Bill and family, we are very sorry about your loss. Mary Anne is gone too soon. We have enjoyed visiting with both of you at various programs like the Thursday evening talks at the Montana Historical Society and other places. Bill, we hope to see you at these in the future.
Etta Webb Dettmann says
Mary Anne was always a special friend in high school and I enjoyed visiting their farm. She was so sweet and kind. I haven’t seen her in quite a few years but often thot of her. So sorry to hear of your loss and our loss. We’re at the age where we’re losing a lot of our friends and classmates.. My condolences to the family.
Jessie (Work) Lesofski says
I was very sad to see that Mary Anne had passed. She was always THE class Mom I looked forward to seeing in Clancy. She had a wonderful knack for making us kids feel loved, and offered endless encouragement. She really did have a positive influence on this particular kid. I’ll always be grateful for that.
You have my most sincere sympathy.
Elasha Nunez says
Bill and Susan, I hope you are both finding some peace and comfort in your family and friends. I wish I could have been there for you and to celebrate Mary Anne’s wonderful life. She was so full of life, it is hard to imagine her not being here. Love you both.
Julie Schultz says
Bill, Anita, Susan, I am so sorry to hear about Mary Anne, and I wish I could have been there on Saturday to tell you in person. You may not remember me, but I have fond memories of sitting in your kitchen filling out my 4-H record book with helpful suggestions from all of you. You all were instrumental in making 4-H a part of my life, and through that, I learned so many valuable skills (interviewing! presenting! meat identification!) that have served me well in life. Mary Anne always made me feel welcome; she was an exceptional human being. Thinking of you all.
Dorothy Stephens says
We are so Sorry for your loss. My Sister Juliett Mohr-Miller was Maryanns Sister in law. You will all be in our thoughts and Prayers.
Louisa Frank says
Dear Bill, Anita and Susan, I’m so sad that Mary Anne has left us. She was such a positive presence in the world. She and all of you inspired my daughters and me in the 4H journey and made an impression that endures to this day. I wrap you all up in love. Louisa
Janet Tatz says
I knew Mary Anne through the Shop pharmacy. I was there often and she was a shining star in n otherwise grim period in my life. She always greeted me with a smile and a word of encouragement. It was a real loss to Shopko and the pharmacy department when she retired. But I was happy for her, knowing all the birding and other adventures that her. She will be missed.