Mary Gerloff

Madison - Although Mary Ellen Varney Gerloff wasn't officially a Madison native--having been born in Brookings, South Dakota--she may as well have been. Mary Ellen spent 90 of her 93 years in her beloved hometown. She was born on Valentine's Day 1926 and died on Halloween 2019 at UW Hospital, following a brief illness.

Mary Ellen, who grew up on Adams Street, was a proud graduate of Randall Grade School, West Junior and Senior High Schools, and the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1947, majoring in psychology.

An inveterate reader of fiction, periodicals, and newspapers, Mary Ellen made it difficult for her family and friends to keep up with her astounding grasp of current events and recent literature.

Mary Ellen Varney married Gerald "Jerry" Gerloff (of Aurora, Nebraska) on January 22, 1949, having met him in a dental office where she worked part time and he seemed to need a surprising number of cavities filled. Mary Ellen and Jerry, a retired botany professor, were lifelong supporters of the University of Wisconsin.

Mary Ellen (later dubbed "Mimi" by her grandchildren) was a longtime member of P.E.O., the First Congregational Church, and University League, for which she once served as president. She was also a dedicated volunteer for Attic Angels, the Girl Scouts, and Friends of the Arboretum. She particularly enjoyed her years as an Arboretum tour guide, explaining the intricacies of nature to hundreds of Wisconsin schoolchildren.

In addition, Mary Ellen was highly artistic. Among her other creative accomplishments, she was a talented poet, seamstress, knitter, and nature photographer. She and Jerry frequently gave educational slide presentations of their outstanding photographs, which focused particularly on birds and Wisconsin native plants.

A devoted environmentalist long before it was fashionable, Mary Ellen was an avid gardener, hiker, and birder. In the 1990s, Mary Ellen and Jerry donated to the Nature Conservancy a large parcel of land they had long owned in the Baraboo Hills.

Possessed of a dry wit and a singular sense of style, Mary Ellen was above all things a generous philanthropist, always willing to support those in need. The list of her beneficiaries is far too long to include here.

For all these reasons, and because so many loved her, Mary Ellen will be greatly missed.

She was predeceased by her husband, Jerry, her parents, Verne Vincent and Dorothy Martin Varney, her brother, Vern Vincent Varney, Jr., and her infant son, Philip.

She is survived by her daughter, Barbara (Linda Newman), of Madison; her son, Robert (Lynette Lamb), of Minneapolis; her granddaughters Grace of Lansing, Michigan, and Julia of Northfield, Minnesota; and her sister, Marcia Magoon, of Issaquah, Washington.

Although Mary Ellen adored flowers all her life, her family asks that friends instead honor her memory through gifts to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, Planned Parenthood, or First Congregational Church.

A memorial service honoring Mary Ellen's life will be held in Madison at First Congregational Church, 1609 University Avenue, on Sunday, December 8, at 2:30 p.m. A reception will follow.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Service
3610 Speedway Road, Madison
(608) 238-3434