Mary Ellen Tysver Hempleman, of Helena, passed “gently into that good night” just before dawn on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, just two weeks short of her 88th birthday, at home with her family. Irreversible kidney failure caused her to leave us much sooner than anyone expected, but she enjoyed a full and well-lived life and was a delightful treasure to those who knew her.
Mary was born Oct. 31, 1926, in Bismarck, North Dakota, to Della (Thompson) and Frank C. Tysver, the baby sister to big brothers Bryce and Lonnie, and big sister Frances, who all preceded her in death.
Mary is survived by her husband of 64 years, Wayne Hempleman, of Helena; daughter Beverly of Tumwater, Washington; sons Steven (Char) of McKinney, Texas, Dave (Amy) of Shawnee, Kansas, and Tim of Vista, California; and 10 beautiful grandchildren — one grandson and nine granddaughters; nephew Roger (Elaine) of Chatwood, Texas; nieces Patty (Charlie) of Longview, Texas, and Diana (Wes) of Mt. Pleasant, Texas; and nephew Neil (Carmel) of Anchorage, Alaska, and niece Lonnylea (Brian) of Nine Mile Falls, Washington. She is also survived by numerous dear cousins, via her sturdy North Dakota roots, and many cherished friends, including “the best neighbors anyone could ask for.”
Growing up in Millwood, Washington, Mom excelled early, skipping three grades and graduating high school at 15. She worked at Liberty Furniture and later at a bank, and while attending Washington State College in the late 1940s, she worked summers in the lab at Sperry Flour in Spokane, Washington, where she met Wayne, the love of her life. They married in 1950 upon his graduation from Washington State College and settled into their first home in Spokane. Wayne’s General Mills career took the family through happy adventures living in Lodi and Anaheim, California, before settling in Great Falls in 1968.
While raising four active children, she began her lifelong career of community service. She joined the Ladies Auxiliary in Lodi around 1960, and her first assignment as chair of the Ways & Means Committee was organizing a spaghetti dinner for 1,000 people, the success of which may explain why she was soon elected president of this local service group. In the mid-1960s, as PTA president in Anaheim, California, she started babysitting clinics to educate junior high school girls on babysitting safety skills.
After moving to Montana, she flourished in Great Falls after joining the League of Women Voters, serving three terms as the president of the League of Women Voters of Montana, and she remained committed to and involved with the league in some fashion until her passing.
In Great Falls, Mom served as the state secretary of the Democratic Party, county chair of the Democratic Party and vice chair of International Women’s Year in 1975-1976, served on the Cascade County Tax Appeals Board and led the fight for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the state of Montana. Alongside lifelong LWV colleagues and friends Jack Stimpfling and Arlyne Reichert, she was quite effective in both local and state politics.
In 1985, Montana Gov. Ted Schwinden appointed her to the Montana State Tax Appeals Board. Dad retired from General Mills in Great Falls on Feb. 28, 1985, and Mom started work in Helena the next day, on March 1, beginning yet another new career that included coursework at the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, Reno. While Mom traveled all over the state with the board hearing tax appeals cases, Dad and his golf clubs kept Mom company on the road. It worked out pretty well for them, as they got to see more of the state they love so much.
Mom was known for her green thumb and her ability to grow anything (despite the deer), whether in her gardens or in the house or on the deck. She could pretty much bring sticks back to life. She continued growing her own herbs inside and right by the front door after her gardens became out of reach, and last year’s tomatoes grown on the deck were scrumptious. Her remarkable gifts in the kitchen created demand for a compilation of “Mom’s Recipes,” though her proportions were frequently glugs, pinches, dashes, and “about that much.”
Their home in Helena is known as the “Cookie House” by many, as no one can leave without being offered half a dozen homemade chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin cookies, or even a loaf of Dad’s bread. Her pie crust from scratch was always perfect, and she made each of the kids a huckleberry pie when they came to visit.
A lifelong voracious reader, Mom read about a book a day and loved the Lewis and Clark Public Library. She donated her large flowering red hibiscus tree to the library, where it still stands by a window and continues to bloom. She read two newspapers and did all four crossword puzzles every morning. Nearing the end, she said that if she could no longer read, she didn’t want to stick around.
She treasured family times wherever we were and especially loved our Montana summers fishing at Lake Mary Ronan, camping at Avalanche in Glacier Park, going up to MacDonald Pass, and fishing at Prickly Pear in the Wolf Creek Canyon, gathering chokecherries with the grandchildren to make the best syrup ever for ice cream and their famous waffle breakfasts.
Mom requested memorials in lieu of flowers be sent to the McLaughlin Research Institute, 1520 23rd St. S., Great Falls, MT 59405.
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Pat McKelvey says
Mary was so much fun to work with. She shared her knowledge, experience and intuition so freely and always in a positive nature. As a “rookie” State Tax Appeal Board member I looked to Mary frequently for advice, and…………her “red pen” was always there when she would review the decisions I had written. Mary was a great supporter of the State of Montana and performed her duties with grace and wisdom. I am proud to have been one to have worked with her.
Pat McKelvey
William B. Erickson says
Mary was a wonderful and energetic Women.A Democrat to the core. She always figured out a way to get something done no matter what the barriers were. I was proud to serve as Cascade County Democratic Sec/Treasure under her.and it was a pleasure knowing her and you back and your family in the 70’s.
Big Sky Cremation & Twitchell Funeral Se rvice says
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