Mary Ann Fern Oviatt

Mary Ann Fern Oviatt, age 91, of Washington, Iowa, passed away Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at the Washington County Hospital following a short illness. Celebration of life services will be held at a later date at the United Presbyterian Home in Washington, Iowa. Private family interment will take place at a later date. Memorials have been established for Alzheimer’s Association, American Heart Association, and Iowa Public Radio. The Jones & Eden Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. Online condolences may be sent for Mary’s family at www.jonesfh.com. Mary Ann was born, January 8, 1933, at the family's farm home in rural Luxemburg in Clayton County, Iowa, the daughter of Carl J. and Leona (Bahl) Ulbrich. She started school in a one room schoolhouse near the family farm and later attended Holy Trinity Catholic Elementary School in Luxemburg. Mary graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic High School in Guttenberg, Iowa. She was the first female in her family to attend college. She graduated as a registered nurse from St. Francis School of Nursing, La Crosse, Wisconsin, received a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 1960 from the University of Iowa, Iowa City and a Master of Science in nursing degree in 1973 from DePaul University, Chicago. Mary's first professional job was as a registered nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, Texas. Her first teaching post was at Mount Sinai School of Nursing in Chicago, Illinois. Next, Mary worked as a registered nurse for the Veterans Administration in Chicago before embarking on a nine-month experience in Europe during which she worked as a nurse in Copenhagen, Denmark and visited seven additional European countries. Upon her return to the U.S., she taught nursing at St. Francis School of Nursing in La Crosse. She relocated to Chicago in 1967 and joined the faculty at the Northwestern Hospital School of Nursing. In 1970, she and Bill Oviatt of Chicago were married in the Presbyterian Church, the church to which she belonged until her death. While Mary served as the director of nursing for the Chicago American Red Cross Blood Service program, Bill worked for the American Hospital Association. In 1980, they moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where she worked selling insurance and providing financial planning services and started her own agency. She was a member, and president in 1985-1986, of the Raleigh Business and Professional Women. After Bill passed in 1996, she continued working in the insurance field until she retired. In retirement, Mary moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico in 2006 where she worked for the local newspaper and sang in a choir. After relocating to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2016, she returned to Iowa to be closer to family in 2018. She moved to the UP Home in Washington in September of that year. She researched and wrote a book, Wisdom in Action, which she published in 2020, about her aunt Sister Agnes Marie, one of the founders of the Medical Mission Sisters. That order was founded in 1925 to care for poor women during pregnancy and childbirth in India. Mary was a member of the United Presbyterian Church in Washington. She was an active member of Rotary International for many decades. She enjoyed watercolor painting, landscaping with perennials, gardening, theater productions, classical music, and traveling. Mary is survived by her stepsons, Greg (Ellen) of Lumberville, Pennsylvania and Brad Oviatt of Mount Vernon, Ohio; step-granddaughters Rachael Oviatt of West Virginia and Suzie Mesch (Stephen) of Virginia; brother, Paul Ulbrich of Guttenberg, Iowa; sisters Rita Jenks of Oak Park, Illinois; Kay (Larry) Gettler of Ankeny, Iowa; Pat Ulbrich (Claus Makowka) of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Linda Ulbrich (LaVern Pritchard) of Minneapolis, Minnesota; sister-in-law, Gail Ulbrich of Anchorage, Alaska; and many nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bill Oviatt; brothers, Carl Ulbrich and Jerome Ulbrich, infant brother, Robert Ulbrich; sisters-in-law, Fran Ulbrich and Janice Ulbrich; and brother-in-law, John Jenks.

Mary Ann Fern Oviatt

January 8, 1933 - January 10, 2024