Southeastern Community College Alumni Association | Distinguished Alumnus Award 2011
Mary Sue graduated from Montrose High School (1958), Keokuk Community College
(1960), and earned a BA from Iowa Wesleyan College (1966).
A lifelong educator, she retired in 2004 with 42 years of teaching at Central Lee Elementary. While teaching, she held numerous offices in CLEA, was a presenter at Iowa reading and social studies conferences, and was on the steering committee of the Geographic Alliance of Iowa following training with National Geographic. As a charter member of Montrose Riverfront, Inc. (MRI), Mary Sue has coordinated fundraising efforts for the purchase of streetscape Welcome banners, numerous community beautification projects, the dedication of a plaque commemorating Revolutionary War Veteran Cato Mead, and the renovation of buildings on the grounds of MRI. She has spearheaded efforts towards the recording of three music CDs and the design and production of annual Christmas ornaments depicting an aspect of Montrose history. She is coeditor of the monthly New Montrose Journal and is a correspondent for the Keokuk Daily Gate City and the Fort Madison Daily Democrat, writing weekly local news and historical articles. Mary Sue also helps write grant proposals and researches local history. She was the grand marshal of the Annual Watermelon Festival parade and Central Lee High School Homecoming Parade, both in 2003. She is historian and choir member of the Trinity United Methodist church and sings with St. Barnabas Choir.
Mary Sue and her husband, Roger, reside in rural Montrose, Iowa.
