August 28, 2019
NORMAL — Mary Jane Guthrie, 79, of Normal, passed away at 8:15 a.m. Monday (Aug. 26, 2019) at Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal.
Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at East Lawn Funeral Home, Bloomington.
Mary Jane was born July 24, 1940, in Bloomington, to Lane and Thelma Guthrie. Survivors include her brother, Robert (Rose) Guthrie, Centralia. She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, William. She also leaves her good friends, Peggy Abbott, Zona Guttschow, Judy and Roger Augspurger, Holly Schultz, Karen Sperlin, and her friends at Blair House Retirement. A special thank you goes to Susan Palcek, RN; Kim Wolf, Tisha Griffin, Shannon and Nicole at The Loft; and Meghan Balle at BroMenn.
Mary Jane graduated from Bloomington High School with the class of 1960. Over the years she contributed to the reunion committee and continued her friendships with her classmates until her death. Mary Jane started working at IAA in Bloomington after graduation and after several years she was employed at Illinois State University until her retirement. After she sold her home in Bloomington, she moved to an apartment and in 2013 to Blair House Retirement Center in Normal until she had a minor foot accident in November 2017. She then lived at The Loft nursing home in Normal until the present.
She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Bloomington and received many nice cards and notes from their members and visits from the ministers.
History and politics, including extensive knowledge of the presidents, were a passion for Mary Jane, and she cherished all of her books on the subjects. She was a prolific reader and had numerous books on a variety of subjects. She was a member of the Democratic Party and loved America. Thus, she would voice her deep concern for our country's future considering the current administration in the White House.
Mary Jane, “MJ,” was proud of the fact that she was a distant relative of the famous musicians, Woody and Arlo Guthrie. She had organized several scrapbooks regarding their careers.
As she was a very social person, MJ would visit with her friends on her many trips up and down the halls or at the dinner table at Blair House. Often she would enjoy inviting numerous friends to her apartment to play cards. Because of her strong determination, she was able to effectively cope with the challenging medical issues with which she was born. She loved to make people laugh, and she had an honest, giving spirit that others enjoyed. She would often buy jewelry at the Blair gift shop and give it to her friends, sometimes along with lunch.
Donations may be made in her name to The Withers Fund (for women with disabilities), in care of Second Presbyterian Church, 313 N. East St., Bloomington, IL 61701.
When she had her own home, she loved to cook and owned many cookbooks.
We have lost a dear friend who taught us kindness, generosity, perseverance in the face of numerous obstacles and to laugh often. We will miss her.
Donations may be made in her name to The Withers Fund (for women with disabilities), in care of Second Presbyterian Church, 313 N. East St., Bloomington, IL 61701.