Mary's Obituary
Mary Kay (Stack) Artz died January 6, 2024, being 100 years and 112 days old, surrounded by her daughter, son-in-law, and her eldest grandson.
She was born September 17, 1923, in Shelton, Nebraska and came to eastern Montana in 1929 with her family where they settled on part of the “Old Fountain Ranch,” an early day wild horse ranch. They arrived just in time for the Great Depression and the four-year drought that afflicted the Western United States. In 1934, they moved to the little town of Circle so the children could attend school a full nine months of the year. Mary Kay graduated from high school in the spring of 1940 and went to work for the US Government to earn money for college. She had a happy two years at the College of St. Theresa in Winona, Minnesota, before stopping to work as the deputy clerk and recorder for McCone County to earn money to continue her education. She headed back to college at Iowa State. In 1945, she returned to Montana to accept a position at Fairview High School where she spent two challenging and happy years teaching home economics.
In August 1947, after spending part of the summer in Alaska, she returned to Montana where she was united in marriage to a young naval officer, William (Bill) H. Artz. They made their home in Great Falls for a year and then purchased a 26-foot trailer so they could travel and live together as they covered Bill’s huge auditing area, an area that spanned from Cutbank to the Dakotas and south to Billings. They purchased their first home just in time for the arrival of their daughter, Mary Beth, born in 1953. In 1958, they moved into their new house which was their cherished home for 51 years. Bill passed away in 1999 and Mary Kay lived alone until she moved to Salt Lake City in 2014 to be closer to her daughter, Mary Beth.
She and Bill traveled to many places including visiting Mexico, Australia and the countries of their ancestral heritage in Ireland and the Netherlands. She was always kind and soft-spoken but Montana tough. A devout Catholic, she instilled her faith in both her daughters.
Mary is survived by her daughters, Mary Beth (Ian) Andrews and Theresa Artz; three grandsons, Brennan (Ali), Christopher, and David Andrews; and great-grandson, Emmett. Her son, Timothy passed away in 2008.
She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Bill, at Mount Olivet Cemetery on Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. Her funeral service was held in Salt Lake City, UT and can be viewed at strarksfuneral.com/obituaries and condolences may be shared online.
