MOUNT MORRIS – Mary Katherine Green, 95, died Oct. 5, 2019 at Pinecrest Community in Mount Morris. Mary was born Dec. 7, 1923, in Montague City, Mass., the daughter of Oscar R. and Lucy M. (Stoughton) Slifer. When she was 15, her family settled on a farm near Conrad, Iowa.
Mary graduated from Conrad High School in 1941 and from McPherson College, Kan., in 1945. She did graduate work at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and then taught physical education at McPherson College from 1946-47.
Mary met Paul Adrian Green at the University of Iowa and they wed in Iowa City in 1947. The couple moved to Christopher, Ill., where they both taught for three years at Christopher High School. They moved to Elgin in 1951 when her husband took a teaching and coaching job at Elgin High School.
Mary and Paul raised six children. She was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Elgin and dedicated much of her time to volunteer activities in the church and community. She enjoyed serving as a substitute teacher in the Elgin public schools. She and her husband loved nature, taking frequent trips to area forest preserves, state parks and to their cabin near Red Lake in Ontario, Canada. She will be remembered for her warmth, generosity of spirit, and outgoing personality.
Mary is survived by her six children – Paul Jr. (Martha), of Harvard, Mass.; Allen of Elgin; Valerie Grimm (Roy) of Noank, Conn.; Jennifer Green (Roman Castillo) of Elgin; Philip Green (Maribeth Ribbon) of Pingree Grove; William Green (Cliff Schiesl) of Palm Springs, Calif.; six grandchildren (Sarah Green Carmichael; Duncan Grimm; Mateo, Alessandra, and Diana Castillo; and Colin Green), and two great-grandchildren (Lucy and Micah Green). Mary was preceded in death by her husband, brother Oscar R. Slifer Jr. and sister Martha B. Slifer Crawford.
Donations may be offered in her memory to the Good Samaritan Fund, Pinecrest Community, 414 S. Wesley, Mount Morris, IL 61054. Burial will take place at the Alice Union Cemetery near Conrad, Iowa.
