Obituary: Mary Kay McElroy

May 26, 1937 – September 22, 2024

Mary Kay McElroy, 87, a long time resident of Kremmling, Colorado passed away from the devastating disease of dementia in Tucson, Arizona on September 22, 2024.

Mary Kathryn Buscovick, affectionately known as “Mary Kay,” was born in Winona, Minnesota, on May 26, 1937, to Thomas Buscovick and Mary (Martin) Buscovick. Mary Kay attended school in Winona, and graduated from St. Theresa’s College with a degree in English literature and a teaching certificate. She spent several summers working in Boulder, and absolutely fell in love with Colorado, vowing that after graduation she would move there. The only high school in Colorado looking for an English teacher that year was in Kremmling, and she got the job.

Mary Kay was lucky to find room and board at Joe and Isabel McElroy’s house on their ranch. She often told the story of the day she met the love of her life, John H. (Jack) McElroy. She was sitting in the kitchen of the ranch house peeling potatoes, helping Isabel prepare a big Noon meal for the hay crew. The back door opened, and in trooped the crew. One of them was Jack, and Mary Kay said she almost fell off her stool when she saw him. She was instantly smitten.

Mary Kay taught high school English in Kremmling for one year, and the next summer, she and Jack got married. They married in Winona, Minnesota, in June of 1960, and immediately left for Alaska in Jack’s pickup camper. They drove up the Alcan Highway before it was paved, and fished all summer off the Kenai Peninsula. They returned to Kremmling that fall, and lived there on the ranch for almost 60 years, with short stints in Walden and Calhan where Jack was a ranch Foreman. They had 49 wonderful years together before Jack’s death in 2009. Growing up in a city, Mary Kay didn’t drive, so she had the most amazing experience of learning to drive both a car and a team of horses at the same time.

Mary Kay and Jack loved living on the ranch raising cattle. To supplement their income, Mary Kay went back to teaching English. She continued to teach and substitute for many years. In addition, Jack and Mary Kay ventured into business. They opened their own successful real estate company, and built and operated River Ranch Village, a mobile home park.

Mary Kay was an immensely talented person. She played the piano and had a wonderful singing voice, performing in local plays and hundreds of weddings and funerals. She was also a talented artist, painting in watercolors and oil. She was an excellent seamstress, sewing clothes for the entire family. She loved gardening and flowers, and she was very active in the Kremmling community, involved with numerous clubs and associations. She was a voracious reader, and really enjoyed getting together with the book club members to discuss the book of the month.

She was also introduced to the sport of skiing, quickly becoming an excellent skier. In their later years, the skiing was traded for winters in Arizona trying to conquer the game of golf. Summers in Colorado were full of jeep and fishing trips. She and Jack also took wonderful trips around the world.

Mary Kay began spending winters in Tucson Arizona in the fall of 2020 and moved there permanently in 2023. She loved the warmth and the desert landscapes and enjoyed meandering through the treacherous foliage in a jeep, soaking up the sights, smells and sun. She never tired of exclaiming over the different saguaro cacti.

Mary Kay loved to make people laugh and smile. She always tried to lift the spirit of anyone she encountered. Her beautiful smile, warm and caring personality and generous nature will be greatly missed by those who loved her.

The family would like to encourage donations to researching a cure for dementia to help eradicate this debilitating disease.

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