Mary Louisa Earhart

1912 - 2008

Mary Louisa Earhart, born September 18, 1912 to Charles and Ruth (Eaton) Haack in rural Mason County passed away at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 at Mason District Hospital in Havana. She is survived by her husband Kenneth of 77 years.

Married December 21, 1930 at the beginning of the Depression, she was an active supporter of her husband’s business ventures while raising three children. She helped him win an all expense trip from the A&P Grocery Store to the 1938 New York World’s Fair. Then, before the Depression had ended, realizing the future of frozen foods, they took the risk of opening a frozen food locker. Together, they and their family experimented in processing, storing, and cooking vegetables and fruit, and introduced frozen foods to the people who lived in and around Havana. This helped rural and city people put away the harvest of their Victory Gardens and eat and live much better during the war, and paved the way for the acceptance of frozen foods in the marketplace of today.

When World War II came and her husband enlisted in the Navy, she took over the operations of the Havana Food Locker, making do with scarce help and materials. After the war, she continued to work there until the sale of the business.

A graduate of Easton High School, she later attended Parson’s Business School, and then worked for Sears Roebuck in Peoria until her retirement. The home they built on the edge of Bath was an oasis for frequent gatherings of friends and family. For many years, they wintered at Westview Ridge in Haines City, FL.

Mary was an active member of the American Legion Auxillary, and sold poppies every Memorial Day. She and her husband were known as the first to volunteer to help with any social or charitable event. She was a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church at Matanzas.

She is survived by three children, Rosemary (Richard) Watson, Sylvia (Vernon) Heye, and Byron (Virginia Donaho) Earhart , 10 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren.

Services will be held at her church at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 27, 2008 with visitation one half hour prior to the services. Burial will follow at Laurel Hill Cemetery at a later date.