- Date Of Birth: September 18, 1922
- Date Of Death: August 22, 2016
- State: Illinois
Mary Alice Byers, age 93, of Shannon, IL, peacefully passed away on Monday, August 22, 2016 at Good Samaritan Nursing Home in Mt. Carroll, IL. She was born September 18, 1922 in Spokane, WA; the daughter of Albert Bernard Cook and Mabel Bernadette Keilty. She graduated from Smith Cotton High School in Sedalia, MO. She then attended Teacher’s College in Orangeburg, MO and also Highland Community College.
Mary Alice enlisted in the WAC (Women’s Army Corp) and served in WWII for two full years. She spent one year at Camp Edward’s, MA and was also stationed in Brisbane, Australia for six months and in the Philippines for six months. She was a member of the ATIS (Allied Translator and Interpreter Section).
Upon returning home, Mary Alice was hired by the Sedalia Chamber of Commerce, and she then accepted an invitation to transfer to the Freeport Chamber of Commerce. In 1967, she was hired at Shannon Schools as the superintendent’s secretary, where she worked for 16 years.
She married Emerson Byers of Shannon on July 8, 1950 at the Bethel Church parish; he died in August of 1970. They had three children: Edward Eugene, Phillip Lee, and Nancy Lynne.
Mary Alice was a member of Bethel United Methodist Church, Tri-Hi Sunday School Class, and an active member of the American Legion Post 379. Mary Alice played golf, bowling, and enjoyed dominos and bridge well into her later years. She also quilted, knitted, crocheted and practiced other handcrafts. During the U.S. Bicentennial year, she hand-stitched the original Carroll County flag, now hanging in the Carroll County Courthouse.
Surviving are her son, Phillip Lee (Linda )Byers of Shannon, IL; daughter, Nancy Lynne (Kevin) Kniss of Lanark, IL; eight grandchildren: Rachel Byers of Milwaukee, WI, Dan Byers of Chicago, IL, Ashley (Greg) Deal of Danvers, IL, Aaron Byers of Naperville, IL, MacKenzie Byers of Bloomington, IL, Katrina (Bret) Martin of Columbia, IL, Kirsten Kniss of Freeport, IL, and Karoline Kniss of Naperville, IL; five great grandchildren: Elizabeth Scheive, Braden Deal, Lorelei Deal, Gabrielle Martin, and Eve Martin, and many nieces and nephews.
Mary Alice is preceded in death by her parents; husband; son, Edward; brothers, Edward, John, Don, and Robert James Cook; and sister Dorothy Cook Scott.
