Obituaries

To Mary Jean Schless, words mattered. She was, of course, an insightful reader and writer, but her true gift was conversation. Mary Jean’s way with words – and the deeds that gave them weight – was a through line in a life that ended peacefully at home on Tuesday, February 13, after 90 years of drawing people out, drawing them close, and fostering environments where growth could take place.

Born to Ralph and Clara Gray on October 27, 1933, in Bayonne, New Jersey, and raised in Upper Montclair, Mary Jean was a precocious child with a sharp wit and stunning intellect that would stay with her all her life. Yet teachers scolded her in report cards for rushing through her schoolwork to resume socializing with friends, and by high school she earned the nickname “Gabby” for her penchant for conversation.

She graduated with a degree in English from Swarthmore College, where she met a polo-playing upperclassman named Bob who did the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. A great partnership was forged, and they married in November 1955, settling in Wayne, Illinois. There they built their home, raised their four daughters, and devoted themselves to the community.

A civic-minded, determined and energetic leader, Mary Jean was known to generations of people for her many roles. An abbreviated list includes: Little Home Church By the Wayside moderator, pageant director, Sunday School teacher, rummage sale captain and choir member, Girl Scout troop leader, PTA president, school board candidate, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), tutor, and mentor.

She devoured books and bulb catalogs; loved theatre, poetry, antique shows and a great bargain; and could accompany anyone on the piano by ear. Her passion was her garden, where she planted multiple varieties of daylilies – each named for a member of the family.

Most of all, Mary Jean will be remembered for her extraordinary ability to bring people together and see each person in their best light. This also made her home a haven for family, friends, neighbors, foreign exchange students, and a long line of teens who helped in the yard. In fact, she confidently provided advice and engaging conversation to anyone in her presence, and she was in a constant state of matchmaking for every unmarried person she met, even well into her 80s. She was “Nana” to a far greater group of people than just her eight grandchildren.

Mary Jean is survived by her husband of 68 years, Robert; daughters Anne (Charles) Bouchard, Mary (Dan) Roach, Jane (Tim) Shelton, and Caroline (Phil) Andres; grandchildren George (Leah), Olivia (Will), Clara (Clarence), Peter, Mary Alice (Tayler), Maggie and Wren; great-grandson Henry; brother Alan (Julie) Gray; nieces, grand-nieces and nephew, cousins, and too many friends to count. She was preceded in death by her grandson Sam Shelton.

As a mother, grandmother, wife and friend, she’s remembered as being – to use one of her favorite phrases of endearment – “perfect in every way.”

A service will be held March 2 at 11 a.m. at the Little Home Church by the Wayside in Wayne, Illinois. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial tributes be made in Mary Jean’s honor to the Little Home Church or the Southern Poverty Law Center.

If you wish to attend the memorial service via livestream, you can do so on the church’s Youtube Page using this link. Or, you can go to You Tube and search Little Home Church by the Wayside. Once you get to the page, look for Home, Videos, and Live. The stream will become available under the “Live” tab shortly before the service starts at 11 a.m.

 For more information, please call Yurs Funeral Home Saint Charles, 630-584-0060, or visit yursfuneralhomes.com.

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