Mary Louise Talley, 85, of Jackson met her Lord and Savior on Friday, June 7, 2024. She passed away peacefully, surround-ed by her family, at Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau.

She was born May 25, 1939, in Jackson to Frank Sr. and Louise Schaper Milde, and was raised with her siblings on the Milde family farm.

She and Carl Talley were married Feb. 14, 1959, in Jackson. Three children — Andrea, Doug and Susan — were born to their union. As a family, they faithfully attended First Baptist Church in Jackson. They had been married more than 59 years when Carl passed away Oct. 14, 2017.

Raised in Jackson, Mary was a 1957 graduate of Jackson High School, where her favorite activity was playing the saxophone in the marching band.

She graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with speech pathology and education degrees and became a teacher and process coordinator for Meadow Heights School District. After retirement, she worked as a process coordinator for Jackson School District.

As part of a community-centered family, Mary was an organizer for anything Jackson and Jackson schools and was a member of several civic and community organizations. Even after her children were grown, her true calling was working with youth and making the schools and community a better place for everyone. Along with many lifelong friends, she was a member of FCE Homemakers Club of Jackson and the Jackson Noon Optimist Club. From leading the PTA to Girl Scouting, she was always planning the next activity as neighborhood chairman for Jackson, day camp director and on the executive board of the Otahki Girl Scout Council. In recent years, she remained a loyal fan of JHS sports, a supporter of musical and art exhibitions and, of course, rarely missed a municipal band performance in Jackson City Park.

Mary shined in her role as a grandmother and will be missed by many.

Loving survivors include three children, Andrea Talley of Jackson, Doug (Michelle) Talley and daughter, Eliza Talley of Cape Girardeau and Susan (Bob) Englehart of Jackson, and their children, Callie (Travis) Simmons of Memphis, Tennessee, and Case Englehart of Fort Smith, Arkansas; three siblings and their families, Francis Kay Milde and friend Irene of Fort Collins, Colorado, Frank Albert Milde Jr. of Jackson and Louis M. “Mark” (Cheryl) Milde of Jackson; and several nieces and nephews.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband, parents and Carl’s parents, Harry and Carrie Talley.

Visitation will be from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, at McCombs Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Jackson.

The Rev. Sam Roethemeyer will conduct the funeral at 11 a.m. Wednesday, June 12, at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Russell Heights Cemetery in Jackson.

In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Jackson R-2 School Foundation are appreciated, as Mary and Carl were charter members.

Online condolences may be sent to the family by clicking on the tribute wall tab above Mary’s obituary article at www.mccombsfuneralhome.com.