Mary Worf

Madison - Mary Alys (Jean) Worf passed away on February 28, 2019. She was born on December 12, 1931, in Longview, Texas, the second of three children of J.W. and Bess (Ellen) Jean. Her family traveled frequently following oil field work in the midwest until they settled on a small dairy farm near Iola, Kansas in 1943.

Introduced to 4-H through her country school, Mary thrived on it, winning state honors, a trip to Washington D.C., and joined Clovia (4-H) Sorority at Kansas State University. She was a campus beauty queen at KSU, graduated in 1953, and also met her future husband there. Gayle and Mary were married at the Salem EUB Church located just a half mile from her parents' farm on the hot summer morning of June 22, 1952. She followed her husband to Ohio while he was in the Air Force, then back to Ness City, Kansas, and Ames, Iowa before their final home in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mary taught school, then took ten years off to care for her two young sons, Glenn and Neil. She later received her M.S. degree in Reading Education and returned to the classroom. Mary was an outstanding teacher, but her greatest devotion was to her family. Summer camping and annual trips to the family farms were important during that time, along with bowling, bridge, annual Christmas tree sojourns, and other family activities. They also enjoyed a cabin in Wisconsin with close friends for several years. And her kitchen was frequently filled with wonderful and tantalizing aromas!

After retiring, Mary and Gayle took up golfing, fly fishing, fly tying and spent increasing time in the Rocky Mountains. They participated in over 25 elder hostels where they horse packed four times in Yellowstone and the Tetons, canoed the Green River Labyrinth Canyon, the Lewis River wilderness lakes of Yellowstone, and float -journeyed with friends down the Grand Canyon. While health issues curtailed these activities in later years, she continued to enjoy less strenuous activities with Gayle. She was a member of Daughters of Demeter and Alpha Delta Kappa Iota teachers' sorority,

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, grandparents, and brother Joe. She leaves behind her husband, sons Glenn (Susan), Neil (Ann), six grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, brother William, sister-in-law Roberta, brother-in-law Duane, and several nieces and nephews. If desired, memorials may be made to St. Joseph Indian School, P.O. Box 326, Chamberlain, SD 57326 or Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve, Attn Supt Bison Herd Management, 2480 B KS Hwy 177, Strong City, KS 66869. A private memorial service is planned for a later date.

Cress Funeral & Cremation Services
3610 Speedway Road
(608) 238-3434