Mary R. Waters

Mary Ruth Waters, age 69, of Iron River, MI, passed away on Tuesday, June 12, 2018 at the U.P. Health System in Marquette, MI. She was born on July 26, 1948 in Lemmon, SD; the daughter of the late Ward and Dorothy (McLaughlan) Keller. She attended and graduated from the Bloomington, MN High School. Mary then went on to the University of Minnesota to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree as a Registered Nurse. She also earned a Certificate in Biblical Studies from Grace Theological Seminary. In addition, she earned her Amateur Radio License (N9XTX). Mary joined the U.S. Navy and worked as an RN, where she met and then married Dan Waters on October 2, 1971 at Oxford Evangelical Free Church in Bloomington, MN. The couple celebrated 46 wonderful years together last fall. The most important thing about Mary is that she trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior from sin at an early age, and then faithfully served Him as evidence of that faith. She especially enjoyed teaching children the Bible, discipling other women, and doing crafts such as machine embroidery and sewing. She also crocheted and quilted among many other things.  She loved to cook and especially blessed others by her bread making. She was a member of the Iron River Bible Church, where her husband began to serve as the Pastor in 1995. Mary is survived by her loving husband, Dan; mother-in-law, Bettie Waters of Tyler, TX; children, Daryl (Becky) Waters of Crystal Falls, MI, and Joy (DeWayne) Ward, of Marquette, MI; grandchildren, Charissa and Ian Ward, Zoe and Roy Waters, Scott (Katie), Alex, and Annie Taylor; brothers, Larry Keller of Bloomington, MN and Steven Keller of Madison, WI; sisters, Betty (Darrell) Lynch of Brooklyn Center, MN and Debbie (Bruce) Zierwick of Princeton, MN; as well as nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends. In addition to her parents, she was also preceded in death by her sister, Leslie Crevier. Visitation will be held on Friday, June 15, 2018 from 4:00 to 6:15 p.m. at the Iron River Bible Church. Funeral services will follow at 6:30 p.m. with Pastor Kraig Tass to officiate. Interment will be in the Bates Township Cemetery on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at 9:15 a.m., where she will be accorded Military Honors by Tim and Tom Nachtwey (relatives of the family) and the West Side Veteran’s Council. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary R. Waters, please visit our flower store.