Mary Elizabeth Eckels

Mary Elizabeth Eckels of Denver, Colorado, was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on September 11, 1948. She passed on January 10, 2025, in Denver, Colorado. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Richard Wagner Eckels and Beverly (Benjamin) Eckels. Mary was survived by her sisters, Margaret Ann Eckels and Melanie Jane Eckels; her brother, Richard Michael Eckels, and his wife, Heather Eckels; her niece, Annie Lori Copus, and grand-niece, Chloe Dylan Copus. A public memorial was held at Hudson Gardens on March 23, 2025.

Mary, also known as "God-Mary", leaves behind a vast second family. Beginning with Stefania Copu, whose life-long friendship began on a chance meeting on the streets of downtown Denver decades ago. It grew into a massive group family hug of her deeply loved Godchildren and Great-Godchildren.

She attended the University of Colorado after graduating from Thomas Jefferson in Denver in 1966. Seeking her artistic life path very early in 1970, Mary was hired by Gusterman Silversmiths in Larimer Square, Denver, by the owner, Astrid Gusterman, widow of Stig Gusterman. Mary was replacing the outgoing silversmith, Scott Veer Lee. Astrid Gusterman was Mary's early silversmith teacher at the bench. Astrid Gusterman passed in March 1974, leaving her two daughters the Denver shop. The Gusterman daughters later sold their Denver shop to Mary, moving their version of Gusterman's to Santa Fe. In 1978, Mary became the sole owner of the Larimer Square shop, but offered the same traditional Stig and Astrid Gusterman designs as the Santa Fe shop. When Mary signed her first shop lease, she went from being frozen in fear of the powerful Larimer Square founder, Dana Crawford, to being lifelong friends with her because of Dana's willingness to help Mary start up. Mary and Dana, Larimer Square's most elegant and enduring ladies, passed just a few weeks apart.

Mary chose her hallmark as an "M" with a long tail down on the right, and three horizontal slashes to create the "E". She used both a stamp and hand-engraved her mark on her own originals. The SGn square hallmark was Stig Gusterman's mark, and later, Mary used the printed word "Gusterman" as the general Denver studio mark. She always had hallmarks made for every silversmith she trained, but there isn't a hallmark list of her nearly 50 years of talented bench mates. Mary remained at "Gusterman Silversmiths" in Larimer Square, creating her original works in fine metals until March 2022. Larimer Square was under new ownership that wanted a different direction, and they ended Mary's half-century studio lease.

Mary moved into her secluded, secret location studio called the "Doghouse", redefining herself as a "private silversmith" as she continued designing her creations. Mary met individually with her customers in an office location in Denver and continued making custom items and repairs.

At Denver's Thomas Jefferson HS, Mary studied sculpture and art under the acclaimed Colorado modernist copper enamellist Herman Casagranda, who is now represented in the Kirkland Museum.

Among the long list of her accomplishments, she made the yearly Telluride Film Festival medallion awards. Mary hand-wove many silver pieces for the Weavers Guild annual recognition, and also the Women's Bank of Denver logo pins for their yearly staff awards. Mary would fly to Niederkorn's gallery for antiquity consultations; she restored fine antiquities via Niederkorn Antiquities in Philadelphia for many years. Mary was invited by the Denver Art Museum to participate in the Yale Collection of Silver to create samples of historic techniques to assist in their display presentation, where Mary's own tools and silver work examples were included in the Museum exhibit.

The decades of creations sent her treasures into private collections all over the world. Among her more well-known clients, she listed Raymond Burr, Peter Nero, Hunter Thompson and Clive Cussler. Mary is listed in Dorothy Rainwater's 4th edition reference book on Living American Silversmiths. She won First Place in the Faber Gallery New York Platinum competition exhibit, 1991. For Saint John's Cathedral, Denver, Mary crafted a sterling silver gospel book cover with Colorado gems and various staffs and awards for members of the clergy at the Cathedral. Mary did not exhibit her original works often because she was too busy making other people's dreams come true.

As a "Thank You" to her supporters, Mary began the large Sterling Silver Snowflake series. It began in 1978 and ended the year before her passing in 2024, as a limited edition of 100 with a few extra artist proofs. Only a few complete sets of the treasured sterling snowflakes exist. As an artist, Mary was born with great talent. As a craftsman and businesswoman, she gracefully learned as she went. From the days of her handwritten carbon receipts to offering computerized CAD design and precision laser work, she grew as the times changed and held true to the craft. Mary never lost sight of the importance of each piece, no matter how large or small. Mary demanded a consistent high quality of her jewelry, seeking more perfection than most artisans and it served her well for half a century.

Mary quietly helped and lifted up more people than we will ever know. Whether it was at her Shop or in her personal life, Mary was always there, reaching out to help. Sometimes it was just that she remembered a birthday and cooked their favorite cake, just because she wanted them to know how important they were to her. Mary was all about love, forgiveness, and sharing. She always left the door open, welcoming all who might wander in. Asking her about the door always being open, Mary replied, "I have to leave the door open, how else will they find me?" Mary was truly a special gift to those who found her.