Mary M. Julius

Mary M. Julius, 89, of Sioux City, died on September 29, 2017, at her home in Sioux City, Iowa. Family visitation will be at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, 3230 Stone Park Blvd, Sioux City, Iowa, on October 5, 2017 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm. Her funeral will be held October 6, 2017 at 10:30 am at Blessed Sacrament Church, 3012 Jackson Street, Sioux City, Iowa. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery.

Mary was born January 15, 1928, in Fort Dodge, Iowa, to parents Eugene and Helene Flaherty. She attended Cathedral High School in Sioux City and later, St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She married Donald Julius of Sioux City in 1952 and the couple moved to Colorado and had two children together, William and Mary. In 1954, Donald died of a heart attack and Mary moved back to Sioux City with her children. She then pursued a teaching degree at Briar Cliff College and taught 5th grade at Bryant School in Sioux City for many years.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her sister Sheila (Johnson) and in some ways, by herself before dementia slowly diminished her wide-ranging knowledge, her quick wit, her fierce independence and sheer competence at dealing with whatever life threw at her. An example of her strength in adversity and sense of humor took place at the wake of her husband – clearly a difficult time for her. One of the well-wishers, a friend to both her and her husband and a well-known hypochondriac, expressed his condolences and added, “I haven’t been feeling a bit well myself lately”. It struck her as so funny that she removed herself immediately from the room and went outside to laugh alone for fear that others would think she was hysterical. She always remembered that friend fondly because for a moment, he lifted the grief from her and allowed her to laugh again.

Mary was the original “Google” before the internet was invented. Her children, grandchildren, niece and nephews would go to her when needing to know:

What’s the difference between e.g. and i.e.?
Where is the Rock of Gibraltar?
How do you spell nausea?
Who was Thomas Nast?
What’s the collective noun for larks?
Who wrote Rip Van Winkle?
What’s the Fahrenheit equivalent of 25* Celsius?

Mary was generous with praise and reluctant to criticize others unless they were pretentious and even then she mostly found the comedy in it. Above all else she loved her parents, her children, her grandchildren, her niece, nephews, family and friends. She also loved books, words, old movies, chocolate, children, walking, laughing and the solitude of her cabin in Lake of the Woods, Canada, where she spent most summers.

The inexorable and greedy path of dementia eventually stole many of those interests – replaced by others less demanding yet the disease left a person who was still loving and loved by her family and who still enjoyed the better part of each and every day thanks to her devoted and compassionate caregivers led by Rhonda Capron, Rhonda’s Senior Support Service, and her beautiful team including Darla, Kat, Sandy, Judy, Chrissy, and Lauren.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children Bill Julius and his partner Sheila Sawatzky of Sioux City, IA; Mary Julius of Dallas, TX; grandchildren Paul Julius of Dakota Dunes, SD; Sarah Julius of Omaha, NE; Emily Julius of Belmont, CA; six great grandchildren; two nephews and one niece.

Should friends desire, contributions may be sent to the Sioux City Public Library, 529 Pierce Street, Sioux City, IA 51101; Hospice of Siouxland, 4300 Hamilton Blvd, Sioux City, IA 51104; or the charity of your choice.