Mary Olive Doebbeling

Surrounded by family, Mary Olive Doebbeling passed away on December 13 at the age of 92. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Roberta and John Russell Manly. She attended Southwest High School and the University of Iowa and graduated from Kansas State University. Following her graduation, she taught second grade at Porter Elementary School in Prairie Village, Kansas.

Mary met Ed Doebbeling in what is now the UNC (Greeley) library and dated while Ed served in the Navy during the Korean War. They married in 1956, then lived in Columbia while Ed finished his degree at the University of Missouri.

Mary was an active member of Kappa Kappa Gamma for 75 years, took part in the Lions Club, and taught at Head Start. For nine years she had the honor of serving on the Rocky Mountain Lion Eye Bank Board of Directors, including one year as president, contributing to the charitable care of the visually challenged. She formed her own design company in 1975, sewing draperies for clients and designing interiors in Loveland and in Estes Park with Westover Construction, retiring in 2015. She also enjoyed many rich years as part of the Bible Study Fellowship family, and at Faith Evangelical Church in Loveland. She and Ed attended here over forty years, where she served faithfully on the FEC Mission Board.

Through it all Ed and Mary valued their children deeply and took great satisfaction in seeing their growth and development. They focused their extensive travels on visiting each of their children around the country and world. They made ten visits to Brian and family during his missions to Mali, West Africa, and to Halle, Germany, often adding side trips with them in Europe. She and Ed traveled to nearly every college swim meet of John’s. Their travels included visiting Julie as they pastored in Houston, St. Paul and Vermont. They also visited Iowa, Indiana and Phoenix to follow Brad’s medical career.

Mary is survived by her four beloved children: Brad, Julie (Brian), Brian (Diana), and John (Ashley). She took great joy in eleven grand-children and eight great-grandchildren: grandson Jordan Myers (Arielle), with sons Eddie, Isaac and Danny; granddaughter Rachael Goertz (Jason) with daughters Sarah, Elizabeth and Madison; grandson Cameron Myers (Anna) with daughters Ruth and Junia; grandchildren Cormac, Bronwyn and Gwyneth (Brad’s); Rebecca and Caleb (Brian’s); Edison, Henry and Elin (John’s).

Mary Olive’s pallbearers come from this beloved crew: sons Brad, Brian and John, with grandsons Jordan, Cormac and Edison.