Mary E. Zurbrugg

Mary E. Zurbrugg, age 103, died at Argentine Nursing Home in Linden, MI, on November 8, 2013. She had a wonderful life and will be missed. Mary was born to John and Mary (Riebs) Zurbrugg on January 26, 1910, in a log cabin in Paulding County, Ohio. She was the eighth child in the family. Four weeks after Mary was born, her family moved to Quincy, MI. As a child, Mary walked two miles each way to her one-room schoolhouse and worked with her father in the fields. At the age of 17, Mary entered nurses' training. She then took a job with Wade Hospital in Coldwater, MI. After moving to Battle Creek, Mary worked at the Nichols Hospital, the Leila Hospital and in the Kimball Sanatorium. Mary met Sophia (Fi) Leys when Fi was a patient at Kimball. They would become close friends for the rest of their lives. After hearing one of President Roosevelt's radio addresses, Mary and Fi decided to enlist in the Army, with the rank of First Lieutenant. Mary served in Australia for nearly three years, then continued her service at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Colorado until April 1946. After the War, Mary became the trusted and valued assistant for Dr. Amos in Battle Creek for the next 24 years. Nursing was Mary's life: She was once proposed to by a young man who demanded that she give up nursing to marry him. She said, without hesitation, nursing was her life. Mary was preceded in death by five sisters, Alice, Emma, Marie, Jessie, Bessie and two brothers, Walter and Fred (who died in WWI). She is survived by nieces and nephews who cherish the time they spent with Aunt Mary and Aunt Fi: Eleanor Rolf; Doris Mohl; Karen Leys; Jan Leys; Debbi Bowman Rimar; Kerri Bowman Johnson; Kelly Bowman Kaniecki; Scott Bowman; Todd Bowman; Chris Weinrich; Jenny Weinrich Walsh; and John Weinrich. A special thanks goes to Kelli for taking care of Mary over the past several years. Graveside services will be held 11:30 AM Thursday, November 14, 2013 at Ft. Custer National Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Sharp Funeral Homes, Linden Chapel, 209 E. Broad St., Linden.