The family of Mary McCullough wishes to announce her passing at 99 years of age on December 2, 2023 in Outlook Long-Term Care.

On July 28, 1924, Maria Wieler was born to Heinrich and Agneta Wieler in a Mennonite colony near Orenburg, Russia. In September 1926, Maria and her family emigrated to Canada. After an 800-mile train ride to Moscow, they traveled to Riga, Latvia, and from there to Southampton, England. In late October, they arrived in Quebec City en route to Herbert, Saskatchewan.

In Canada, Maria became Mary, and, within a few years, the family settled on a small farm south of Swift Current. Mary went to grade eight at Daybreak School in McMahon, and, in June 1943, graduated from high school in Swift Current.

Days after graduation, Mary entered Normal School in Moose Jaw. Six weeks into a six-month course, with war raging in Europe and a shortage of teachers on the home front, Mary was offered a teaching certificate and a school of her choice.

She jumped at the chance, and, within days, stepped off the train at Glenside as the new teacher for Inverness School. She taught there for two years, then several more west of Glenside at Geneva School.

She married Bill McCullough during her Inverness years, and they started building their farm and creating a family. As their children arrived, Mary simply moved her teaching career from a one-room schoolhouse to a small blackboard on the wall next to her wood stove.

Mary’s life was rooted in her family and her strong Christian faith. In the 1950s and ‘60s, Mary was Sunday School superintendent in Glenside United Church. In 1960, Mary and the local Alliance Church pastor organized the first Vacation Bible School in Glenside, an “ecumenical” effort that lasted well into the 1960s. During her six years in long-term care, when asked where she would go when she died, Mary would answer, “To Heaven, of course!”

Bill passed away in 1988. Mary was also predeceased by her parents, her nine siblings, and Bill’s siblings.

Mary is survived by her three children, Sam, Bill, and Joan, and their families. She was privileged (and exhausted) to have been a grandmother to 14 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren!

The family deeply appreciates the loving care Mary received in Outlook Long-Term Care during the past six years. That care was never more apparent than in the days leading up to her passing.

A private family service and committal will be held at a later date.