Mary M. Miner

Mary M. Miner died Tuesday, June 2, at her West Branch home with her family at her side after a brave fight with ovarian cancer. She was 67. Mary was born Sept. 22, 1941, in Detroit, the daughter of Robert and Katherine Martin (later Morrison). After graduating from West Branch High School in 1959, she attended Albion College for two years before transferring to Michigan State University, which was the start of her life-long loyalty to the Spartans. She married Hollis L. Miner in 1963 and they had three daughters. Mary taught full time off and on for a few years in West Branch and then was a frequent substitute teacher at Ogemaw Heights High School in the 1970s and ’80s. More than anything, Mary loved being a wife and mother and she was darned good at both. She was an avid camper, an inconsistent-yet-determined bowler and was active in Girl Scouts. She was a troop leader, service unit director, Mitten Bay Council board member and Camp Wigwah Day Camp director. Mary also spent several summers exploring the state with her metal detector, finding everything from bottle caps to silver coins to rings. In the 1990s, she started selling her garage-sale treasures on eBay – a pastime she found rewarding in many ways. Mary also was involved in Ogemaw Township government with stints on the Board of Review and the Election Board, and she was a member of the township’s Downtown Development Authority. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church. Mary is survived by three daughters, Betsy Miner-Swartz (Robin) of Lansing, Holly Miner of Petoskey and Amy Covault of Clarkston; and two grandchildren, Madison and Joshua Covault of Clarkston. She also is survived by three brothers, Richard (Dorene) Martin of Midland, Brian (Arlene) Martin of West Branch and Arthur Morrison of San Francisco; and several nieces and nephews. In addition, she is survived by sister-in-law Barbara (Robert) Nicolini, of Clearwater, Fla., and brother-in-law Don (Bonnie) Miner of West Branch. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Hollis, in 2006, and her parents, Robert Martin in 1953 and Kaye Morrison in 1996. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Helping Hands in West Branch or the First United Methodist Church of West Branch. Visitation is 2-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Thursday, June 4, at Steuernol & McLaren Funeral Home, 109 E. Houghton Ave. in West Branch. The funeral service is at 11 a.m. Friday, June 5, at First United Methodist Church, 2490 W. State Road in West Branch.