BLOOMINGTON – Mary J. Harsha, 87 of Bloomington, passed away on Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 6:07 am at Heritage Health Care of Bloomington, Illinois
Mary’s service will be held on Tuesday, February 21, 2017 at 10 am at First Christian Church of Bloomington with Pastor Jim Warren officiating. Following the service, entombment will be held at Park Hill Mausoleum in Bloomington. A visitation will be held on Monday, February 20, 2017 from 5-7 pm at Beck Memorial Home in Bloomington.
Memorials may be made to First Christian Church of Bloomington.
Beck Memorial Home, Bloomington, Illinois, is in charge of arrangements.
Mary was born on December 22, 1929 in Cooksville, Illinois, the daughter of Timothy T. and Hattie M. (Parsons) Leonard. She married Jackson “Jack” T. Harsha on June 1, 1949 in Peoria, Illinois. After 67 years of marriage he passed away on June 1, 2016.
Mary is survived by her daughters; Sandra (Doug) Haas of Bloomington and Kristi Bayne of Normal, her two grandchildren; Brian L. (Francine) Haas and Kelsey Taylor Bayne, and her brother; Wayne (Lynn) Warner of Bloomington.
She is preceded in death by her parents and husband.
Mary attended Bloomington High School and at an early age left home to begin working towards building her own life, and later settled down when she met the love of her life, Jack, to whom she was married to for 67 years. Mary was a strong, dedicated, and persevering woman who worked at several different jobs in her life. She was a cashier for A&P Groceries, a cashier for BHS in the cafeteria, a bookkeeper for Johnny Martin Chevrolet and Barker Motors, worked for the accounting department at Illinois Wesleyan University, and her last position that she held for 20 plus years was in the accounting department for Bloomington Public Schools District 87.
Mary was a strong Christian woman who loved the Lord. She was also an avid bowler and was active in her early years with the Punching Puellae Duckpin Bowlers. She and her husband Jack enjoyed traveling of all sorts, whether it be camping in their pop-up camper and motor coach or cruising with their family, as well as traveling abroad. No matter where they went, they loved being able to appreciate God’s beautiful creation. One of their proudest vacations was a trip to the Holy Land.
Mary was a devoted wife to Jack, loving mother to her two daughters Sandra and Kristi, and an extremely endearing and supportive grandmother to her grandchildren Brian and Kelsey. She will be deeply missed by all her family and they look forward to the day that they will see her again.
Online condolences may be made to www.beckmemorial.com
