Mary Lou Hewitt

Memorial Graveside Services for Mary Lou Hewitt will be held at the Highland Cemetery in Bertrand, Nebraska on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. with Mr. Harry Waters, officiating. Services were also held on July 13 at Trinity United Methodist Church in Salem, Oregon.

Mary Lou Hewitt, 82 years of age, of Salem, Oregon (formerly of Bertrand) passed away on July 8, 2010 in Salem. She was born July 10, 1927 in rural Bertrand, one of five children born to John A. and Agnes (Piska) Pierce. She grew up on a farm southeast of Bertrand, attended the Urbana School, and completed her high school education in Bertrand in 1943. Mary traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska after graduation and worked at St. Elizabeth's Hospital for a pathologist taking notes and typing lab reports.

In 1945, she returned to Bertrand, where she worked at Ralph's IGA. In 1948, she moved to Lincoln once again with her cousin, Kathleen Piska. Mary found employment at the Nebraska Farmer and worked for them until 1955. She returned to Bertrand in 1955 to help her parents move the family house from the farm to Bertrand. After the move, she became the Office Nurse for Dr. Finnegan in both Bertrand and Lexington, Nebraska. When Dr. Lamphere started his practice in Bertrand, Mary Lou returned to the Bertrand Clinic until 1962. During this time, she helped her sister, Lorene and brother-in-law, Everette Waters, get the job printing work out on time at the Bertrand Herald. She moved to Kearney in 1962 and worked for Dr. Johnson until 1965. After thinking about it for a long time, Mary Lou decided to jump in with both feet after all her medical experience and become a full-fledged nurse. She enrolled in Bryan Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and graduated in 1968.

She met Gayle Hewitt while attending nursing school and they were married after graduation. They lived in Lincoln, where she worked at Bryan Hospital, then moved to Lakewood, Colorado, where she worked for a Family Practice physician. Gayle's profession as a corporate tax accountant took them to Santa Monica and San Francisco, California, where Mary Lou joined a cardiologist in Concord, California as an office nurse, retiring in 1989. The couple moved to Salem in 1989 to begin their retirement and enjoy the slower pace of Oregon living. Mary Lou and Gayle traveled extensively during the past 30 years visiting locations in Europe, Australia, Hawaii, and Canada as well as much of the mainland US. They frequently traveled to the Oregon coast which they particularly enjoyed.

Mary Lou was well known for her sewing and knitting abilities and excelled at arts and crafts. One of Mary Lou's close friends remarked "that she could see potential use for a scrap of material or a bit of yarn." She knitted baby hats for preemies and babies in third world countries. Mary Lou sewed with several sewing groups and enjoyed many years in Extension Club. She was an active member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Salem.

Mary Lou was the most caring and loving person known when it came to helping other family members when they were in need. She would travel to any location to assist a loved-one who was struggling. She set a very high standard for the rest of the family to aspire to.

Besides her parents, Mary Lou was preceded in death by her husband, Gayle on May 26, 2009; her brother, Byron Pierce; and sisters: Mildred (Pierce) Stineman and Lorene (Pierce) Waters.

She is survived by her sister, Jean (Pierce) High of Kearney, Nebraska; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A memorial has been established in her memory and kindly suggested to the Bertrand United Methodist Church and the Willamette Valley Hospice.

There will be no visitation as the family is honoring her wish for cremation.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.