Mary Husted

Mary Husted was a woman with a green thumb, and a golden heart. She could make anything bloom, grow, and succeed, with her attention, her patience and her love. From her garden of houseplants adorning her home, to the beloved birds she kept as pets, to especially, the large and loving family she was blessed with, Mary nurtured everything around her. She touched us all in her time with us, teaching us, helping us, and above all, loving us.

Mary’s story began on a hot summer day in 1910, in the middle of the growing season outside Grand Rapids, Michigan. Those were such fascinating times in our country’s history, when the birth of the automobile and the airplane showed us that anything was possible. It was a different birth that gave the Aman family reason to celebrate on July 16, 1910, the birth of a baby girl they named Mary.

Mary was one of four children in the family’s home, which was located on the west side of Grand Rapids. The Aman’s property is today a city park named for them, but in those days it was fields and farmland, where Mary and her family spent most of their time. Farming was a family affair in those days, and Mary did her fair share as a child.

Mary’s family ancestry was of Cherokee Indian Nation, traced back to Colorado, with the other half of her family very French Catholic. Her family history was very important to her all of her life, as well as a source of pride.

When Mary was old enough for school, her parents sent her to St. James Catholic School, on Bridge Street NW. She attended until she finished grade school, when she went to work on the family farm full-time, so common in her generation.

When she was in school, however, she knew a young boy named Sylvester Husted, and he was her first “crush.” That puppy love grew into a longtime friendship, and eventually, true love. One day when Mary was a teenager, Sylvester rolled up to her home on a motorcycle, and told her to hop on. “Where are we going?” she asked him. “We’re going to Indiana, to get married,” he replied. Mary excitedly hopped aboard, and they headed off to do just that!

When the newlyweds returned home and Mary told her family she got married, her mother insisted she didn’t live with Sylvester until they had a proper church wedding. So needless to say, they hastily had their ceremony, and excitedly started their life together.

Sylvester worked in a Grand Rapids factory to provide for his young bride, and soon enough, their large and loving family. They settled into a place on the west side, moving around as their family grew over the years.

And did it ever grow. The couple had 11 children over the years, Sylvester, Otto, Shirley, Cornetta, Audrey, George, Florence, Patricia, Mary, Elizabeth and John. As the family grew, the family moved, at one point even living in an apartment above a restaurant called Joyce’s (where one of her daughters went on to work, as well).

Eventually, the family moved to a home on Fernando NE, putting down roots, and where Mary would remain the rest of her life. It was such a beloved home for her, where so many beautiful memories were formed. And in the early days, her home was quite the hotbed of activity.

With all those kids running about this way and that, Mary was always very busy corralling them. There were many challenges over the years, many times that tested Mary’s mettle, her patience, and her faith, but every time she persevered. She was an incredibly strong, determined woman, who made the best of every situation.

Mary was a loving, caring and nurturing woman, in whose home everything bloomed so beautifully. She was a woman with a golden heart and a truly green thumb, too, and her home was a veritable Garden of Eden for her houseplants and hanging vines. She also raised lovebirds, and they even grew to outnumber her children, with 12 at one time!

With 12 birds and 11 kids and a husband to care for, Mary also enjoyed her time to unwind, of course. She enjoyed lighting some incense in her home, as she loved the aroma, and it helped her headaches, too. She loved listening to country music, or some of her Elvis Presley records.

Most of all, she loved caring for her husband, children, and eventually grandchildren. Her grandson, Craig, even moved in with her and she raised him as her own over the years.

Sadly, Mary’s beloved husband died in 1985, which was very hard on her, but she persevered with the love and support of her family. While she took good care of them over the years, they were happy to return the favor.

Her family took great care of her later in life. She traveled with them on occasion, once taking a great trip to Colorado to visit her son John. She loved the scenery there, though the car ride through the mountains was a little too much for her!

Her grandson also took her on a terrific, memorable train trip to the Upper Peninsula, and also to the beautiful Mackinac Island. She enjoyed that trip so much, and her grandson lovingly pushed her in a wheelchair around the island, so she could enjoy the sights. It was one of the true highlights of her life, in a life so full of wonderful moments.

Mary sadly died on Sunday, October 21, 2007, after a long and full life, at the age of 97.

Mary was a wonderful woman, who lived a wonderful life, a life so full of family and fond memories. She was such an amazing lady, such a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Mary was a woman with a green thumb and golden heart, a heart that lives on today in all who knew her. She will be greatly missed.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband Sylvester Husted, her daughter Elizabeth Joan Husted, her son John Edward Husted. Surviving are her children: Sylvester E. and Esther Husted, Otto R. and Dolores Husted, Shirley and Robert Johnson, Cornetta Miller, Audrey and Bernard Anderson, George C. and Pat Husted, Florence Chambers, Patricia and Niles Haist, Mary and Jeff Hoyle, several grandchildren and great grandchildren and nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held Wednesday at 1:30 P.M. at the Heritage Life Story Funeral Home, Van’t Hof Chapel, 851 Leonard St. N.W. Interment will be in Rosedale Memorial Park. Mrs. Husted reposes at the funeral home where relatives and friends may meet her family Tuesday from 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. To read more of Mary’s life, share a memory, or sign the online register book please visit www.lifestorynet.com