Mary McKenzie

My Life Story Mary B. McKenzie, age 83 passed away on February 6, 2016 after a long battle with stroke related chronic illness. Mary was born on April 10, 1932 in Orofino, ID to Robert and Bessie Mattson. After graduating Valedictorian from Orofino High School she earned her degree in education from Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, ID. She married Neale L. McKenzie and remained his wife for 60 years until he passed in 2014. Mary was an educator for her entire career. She was a high school counselor, English teacher and art teacher at West Jr. High and Fairmont Jr. High. She earned her Masters degree from Boise State University in 1978 in Art Education. She was an accomplished artist as well as a respected educator. In her last 9 working years, she served as the Art Educator Administrator for Boise School district. Mary was a gifted artist whose greatest artistic passion was working in clay. She won several national awards for her hand built ceramics and was invited to show her work at the Smithsonian in the early 80's. She was awarded the governor's top honor as educator of the year under the leadership of Cecil Andrus and was asked to represent the United States as one of twelve ambassadors to China to share the importance of the arts in education. Health issues prevented her from being able to attend. Mary suffered chronic illnesses throughout her life but always found the bright side of every situation. She was driven to do her best and make the most of every day. Later in life, she found another creative avenue through being an active member of the Idaho Writer's Guild where she won numerous writing contests for poetry and short stores. She served a guild President and remained actively involved for several years. A longtime member of Boise First Nazarene church, she found a lot of joy in attending church, volunteering in numerous activities and teaching Sunday school. She also taught art at summer camps for many years. Mary is survived by her daughter, Jolene McKenzie, long-time resident of Nashville, TN and several nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband Neale, parents and all six siblings including Roy Mattson, Marie Evertt, Gilbert Mattson, Clarence, “Frenchy” Mattson, Betty Lyda, and Jerry Mattson. Visitation for family and friends will be held from 5 to 7 PM on Wednesday, February 10th at Accent Funeral Home, 1303 N. Main St. in Meridian. Graveside services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, February 11th at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery. A funeral service will be held at 1:30 PM at Boise New Hope Church of the Nazarene, 8585 W. Overland Rd. in Boise. Remembrances may be left for the family at www.AccentFuneral.com. Services are under the direction of Accent Funeral Home, Meridian. A special Thank You is extended to the staff of Brookstone Village in Nampa and Heart and Home Hospice care of Caldwell, who exceeded all expectations in delivering exceptional care and love to her.