Mary Lou Orndorff
Mary Lou Orndorff
There is a goodness deficit with the
passing of Mary Lou on April 3. A dear and loyal friend to many, Mary Lou will
be remembered by her family and friends with the deepest love. While our hearts
are heavy with loss, we are also filled with gratitude for having basked in
Mary Lou’s light and inspiration of a life well-lived.
Mary Lou was born on May 21, 1936 to Marian
and Arthur Cascadden in Highland Park,
Michigan.
She graduated from St. Claire High School in 1954 then Evangelical Deaconess
Hospital School of Nursing in 1957. Mary Lou had a diverse nursing career. She traveled
extensively as a stewardess-nurse for the Northern Pacific Railway until moving
to New York to work at Mt. Sinai Hospital. Mary Lou Joined the Navy Nurse Corps
during the Vietnam War and was stationed at Yokosuka, Japan, Bethesda Naval
Hospital, and Great Lakes Naval Hospital ultimately earning the rank of Lieutenant
Commander. After her discharge from the Navy, Mary Lou traveled the world as a
senior clinical research associate for Abbott Laboratories overseeing clinical
trials for their pharmaceutical products division.
In 1980, Mary Lou moved to Boise and
married Harvey Orndorff. She left professional nursing behind and began
pursuing her passion of watercolor painting. She studied under Kolan Peterson in
California and Roland Giampanoli in Boise. It is in this medium that Mary Lou
spent 30 years developing a niche, specializing in the architectural treasures
and street scenes of downtown Boise. Some of her more well-known works are the
Union Block Building, Lucky 13, Saturday Market, Hyde Park, The Egyptian
Theatre, and Basque Center among others. Her work also includes Northwest
landscapes and Tuscany village scenes. She was inspired by historic buildings
and the way they are put to modern use. She always included people to capture a
vibrant and friendly atmosphere her paintings reflected. Mary Lou’s last work was
of her church, Collister United Methodist, and a representation of the diverse
congregation that she so enjoyed in her spiritual journey. Her works have been displayed
in art galleries and exhibitions and are part of several private and corporate
collections.
Mary Lou shared her love of art with
children as a docent at the Boise Art Museum for 14 years and was greatly concerned
for the future of art education in schools. She was passionate about education and
helped to endow a veteran’s scholarship at BSU and a nursing scholarship at
LCSC in Lewiston. She also gave generously to BAM and the Boise YMCA. Mary Lou
along with her partner of 20 years, George Shaber, cycled extensively
throughout the U.S. and enjoyed a variety of Elderhostel programs.
Mary Lou was welcomed by the eternal
embrace of her parents, loving husband Harvey and sister Linda, beloved
daughter-in-law Janet, precious great-granddaughter Rowan and her devoted
partner, George. Both Harvey and George were combat veterans of World War II
whose lives were enriched and tempered by the loving tenderness of Mary Lou. She
is survived by family, friends, and her beloved cat Pumpkin who had their lives
enriched by the grace of her love, supportive non-judgmental nature and trademark
good humor. She made all of us be better and we’ll need to work hard to fill
the goodness deficit left by her passing.
Forever modest and humble, Mary Lou would
not like us to make a fuss but a fuss we will make to celebrate the life of an angel
who walked among us. Final respects with Military Funeral Honors will be at the
Idaho State Veterans Cemetery on April 19 at 2:45 p.m. A church service will be
held at Collister United Methodist on May 19 at 12:30 with a Celebration of
Life held at Zero Six Coffee Fix on May 21 from 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, those wishing to
remember Mary Lou with memorials may send them to George K. Shaber Veteran’s
Scholarship, Boise State Foundation, 2225 University Dr., Boise 83706. Memories
and condolences may be shared on Mary Lou’s memorial webpage at
www.aldenwaggoner.com
and on her
webpage
www.marylouorndorff.com
.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mary Lou Orndorff, please visit our flower store.
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