Mary Jane Carter

Mary Jane Carter, 77, of South Sioux City, Nebraska, died Friday, May 27 at Azria Health Regency Square in South Sioux City after a yearlong battle with cancer. Abiding by family wishes, cremation has taken place, and a private burial in the Ponca City Cemetery will be held at a later date.  Mohr & Becker-Hunt Funeral Home has assisted the family.  Online condolences may be offered at www.meyerbroschapels.com

Born October 27, 1944 in Ponca, Nebraska, to Earl and Josephine (Jonas) Carter, Mary Jane is survived by her son, Phillip, his wife, Cheryl (Dreckman) Carter of Waverly, Nebraska, and two grandchildren: Benjamin of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Abigail, also of Waverly, Nebraska. She is also survived by a sister, Phyllis Engel of South Sioux City, Nebraska, and several nieces and nephews.

Born and raised in Ponca, Mary Jane lived most of her life in the northeast Nebraska community where she graduated from high school in 1962. She attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Wayne State College but graduated with distinction from St. Joseph Mercy School of Nursing in 1978, and, later, Morningside College, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1991.

She spent 32-years in nursing with Mercy Hospital in Sioux City, beginning when St. Joseph’s and St. Vincent’s Hospitals combined to form Marian Health Center. She began her career as an intensive care unit nurse for five years before supervising the post coronary care unit. Prior to her retirement in 2010, Mary Jane spent more than 10 years as a nurse in same day surgery. Additionally, her nursing career included providing home health care in the 1980s for elderly patients throughout northeast Nebraska. 

When she wasn’t busy in nursing, Mary Jane could be found in her garden growing annuals and perennials along with tomatoes and vegetables. She took immaculate care of her lawn as the South Sioux City Chamberettes bestowed upon her multiple Yard of the Month honors; and she was a voracious reader. Mary Jane never met a book she didn’t like (or read for that matter) so libraries in Ponca or South Sioux City were preferred stomping grounds. But she really loved Husker football and Memorial Stadium on a football Saturday was her home away from home. From Tom Osborne and Tommie Frazier to Bo Pelini and Bo Ruud, she was a Nebraska football season ticket holder for nearly 30 years. A huge sports fan in general, she enjoyed watching her grandkids compete in everything from football, baseball and basketball to volleyball, softball, and track. She loved Magic Johnson and the “Showtime” Lakers and Mickey Mantle and the New York Yankees.

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her parents, four brothers: Harold, Howard, Ross, and Ralph; and sisters Dorothy, Alma Jean, and Jolene.