Mary Ann Baas, age 90, passed away at Edencrest Assisted Living Facility in Des Moines, IA on June 18, 2023.
A funeral mass celebrating her life will be held at 10:30 AM on Saturday, July 15 at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3663 66th St. Urbandale, IA. Visitation with the family will be at the church beginning at 9:30 AM. Interment will be at the Rio Grande Valley Veterans Cemetery, Mission, TX.
Born on her parents’ homestead in North Dakota on December 14, 1932, Mary grew up in West Bend, IA. She graduated from West Bend High School and then Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls.
Mary taught in McCallsburg, IA until 1955, when she married her best friend, Bill Baas. They were married 53 years, until Bill’s passing in 2009.
Mary lived most of her life in Urbandale, IA, raising seven children. In addition to teaching, she ran a daycare for 20 years and worked at the Urbandale library. She was active in the PTA, Little League, and St. Pius X’s Altar and Rosary Society. She loved music, traveling, reading, knitting, crocheting and cheering on her favorite teams, especially the Chicago Cubs and Iowa Hawkeyes.
In 1999, Bill and Mary moved to Weslaco, TX where she volunteered in their community, at local schools and at a local historical museum. In 2018, Mary returned to Iowa, living at Edencrest Assisted Living Facility in Beaverdale.
Mary’s family would like to express their sincerest gratitude to the staff of Edencrest Assisted Living and Gentiva Hospice for their dedication and the excellent care they provided.
Surviving are her six children, Steve (Shelley) of Waukee, IA, Dave (Marty) of Windsor Heights, IA, Kathy (Mike) Moyna of Weslaco, TX, Karen Cline of Farmington, MN, Robert (Nancy) of St. Paul, MN and Brian (Jamie) of Bondurant, IA, sixteen grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and her brother Don (Joyce) Tabor of Chanhassen, MN.
She was preceded in death by husband, Bill Baas, sons, Michael Dennis and John Raymond Baas, and parents, Arthur and Agnes Tabor.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s name to St. Pius X Catholic Church, Urbandale, Iowa