Marjoria Mae Fry McCarty, 84, of Hiawatha, peacefully left this life on Wednesday July 17, 2013. A celebration of life will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Setan Parish, Hiawatha, Iowa, 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 31st, 2013, with a visitation and light supper following the service at the church. Burial will be at a later date in the family plot at Strawberry Point Cemetery. Arrangements by Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Marion.
Marjoria Mae Fry was born November 16, 1928, to Harry William and Dorothy (Waring) Fry in Greeley, IA. Her family moved to Edgewood to farm. As a child she liked to ride horses, dance and play the accordion. She first got interested in science when she was following her father around on the farm. As a child, she had a great hatred for school, especially her 4th grade teacher. Since she spent most of her time scheming against her teacher, she neglected reading, writing, and spelling. In this way, she says she suffered greatly. She graduated from Edgewood High School in 1946. In college her passion was to become an archeologist, but her teachers urged her to go into teaching. She thought it was an absurd idea since she'd hated school so much as a child, but became a teacher anyway, mostly because people rejected the idea of a woman archeologist. Marjoria continued her education at Clarke College in Dubuque, IA, working toward a degree in Education. She taught in a rural one room country school and first grade in Arlington, IA, from 1947-1952.
Marjoria met her husband John W. McCarty(1929-1999) of Independence, IA, son of Dale Michael(1900-1960) and Nellie(Carrier)(1899-1965) McCarty of Independence, IA, married 11/21/1951 in Independence. Marjoria and John separated 6/23/1957. She then continued with her college at Upper Iowa University in Fayette where she obtained her BA degree in Education in 1959. During this period she and her two children John William II (1952-1979) and Rebecca Darlene (1954- ) lived in Strawberry Point where she taught 5th grade until 1961. Moved to Cedar Rapids in 1961 and began teaching at Adams Elementary 5th and 6th grade science. She moved to Pierce Elementary starting in 1968-1969 school term and taught that 5th grade class over at Kennedy High School because of the overcrowding at Pierce. She retired from Pierce in 1991.
Marjoria became involved in soil conservation when she served on science committees during her tenure in the Cedar Rapids Public School System. She was elected to a soil conservation board which went around helping companies with pollution problems. She also taught teachers about pollution, land management, and conservation. In 1979 she started a sanctuary at Pierce Elementary starting it for the students and future students to be able to relive the prairie and to give the students a sense of ownership. In 1982 she was given the Iowa Soil Conservation Award, in 1984 she was named the Indian Creek Nature Center Environmental Educator of the Year, and in 1987 became a charter member of the Iowa Academy of Science in Elementary Science Teaching. "My objective in teaching is to make my students more aware of the nature around them that we take for granted."
In her retirement she continued to pursue her many interests, including volunteering in the school system at Indian Creek Nature Center and Science Center both here in Cedar Rapids, traveling to Belize to scuba dive and see the coral reef, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, and New Mexico to visit her daughter and her partner Sue Long. Marjoria was a caregiver to her mother since 2004, until her passing last October at the age of 102.
She was preceded in death by her parents and son John William McCarty II.
Marjoria will be dearly missed by her daughter Rebecca (Sue), several cousins and close friends near and far.
In lieu of flowers that fade and die, a memorial fund has been established in Marjoria and John's name to create a sanctuary of land here in Iowa to become another learning center for all.
Our gratitude is extended to the Mercy Medical Hospice and Pro Care staff that took excellent care of Marjoria. Also to the home care assistant that continued on after Marjoria's mother had left the residence last year.