Mary Jane Calhoun

Mary Jane Calhoun, 87, passed away on Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in her home at Chardonnay Assisted Living. 

Mary Jane was born in the early spring of 1935 in Oskaloosa, Iowa, to her beloved parents, E.C.  and Faye Werner. She had seven siblings: Betty, Bob, Dora Jean, Harriett, Ruth Ann, and Charity  & Faith, twin sisters who died as babies. 

Mary Jane often reminisced about when she was growing up. Her father worked hard on the  railroad, and her mother worked hard at home. They always had a big garden and did a lot of  canning. One especially memorable story was about the time a big batch of ketchup exploded  down in the basement (a fun clean-up job, that). When Momma was five, she was walking down  the lane to get the mail when she made a terrifying discovery. She ran back to the house, crying  to her mother, "Mommmm! I have BONES in my fingers!!" She told how the hobos, who would  ride the rails, all knew they could come to their back door, and her mother would feed them. Her  childhood was wholesome and wonderful. Mary's propensity to work hard and love others, her  kind, caring ways, and her delightful sense of humor were all nurtured there. 

As a young adult, Mary Jane moved to Des Moines, Iowa, where she worked in a big department  store and lived with her sister, Dora, and her husband. They introduced her to Loren Calhoun, a  handsome young fellow fresh out of the military. It was a good match: Loren and Mary were  married ten days later, were separated for a bit when Loren went to be with the Lord, and are  now reunited and with Christ. 

In addition to being an excellent and loving housewife, mother, aunt, and Gma, Mary took on  many other jobs throughout her life: a few of those were being the president of PTA, working at  a food processing plant, babysitting, helping to raise her grandchildren, and managing All  American Frozen Yogurt in the Magic Valley Mall. She loved doing handy crafts of all kinds,  and the little doodles that she would sketch were delightful. Mary won so many of KBAR  Radio's call-in Trivia Quiz episodes that the host soon called her by name when he heard her  voice. Loren and Mary often danced in the living room, which delighted their children. When the  kids were grown and gone, she and Loren would go fishing and hunting together and very much  enjoyed those times. Mary became Loren's primary caregiver when his health started to fail. 

Mary Jane was preceded in death by her dear husband, Loren; her oldest daughter, Mari; and her  parents and siblings. She is survived by her children: Rebecca (Bernard) Schell, Randy Calhoun,  and Janice (Craig) Carson, and by her grandchildren: Jeremiah McCarroll, Jonathan (Mindy  McAllister) Carson, Chancy (Tahnee) Calhoun, Beth Carson, Melissa (Edward) Sarusal, and Kate  (Josh Cotton) Schell; and many, many nieces and nephews and their babies and grand-babies. 

Many people adopted Mary Jane along the way and felt like family to her. You know who you  are; she loved you dearly. 

We want to acknowledge the wonderful staff and residents at Chardonnay Assisted Living.  Thank you for loving her through those dark Covid days when she could not see her family in  person. Thank you for making a safe and beautiful home for her. She was so content and loved  you all so much.

There will be a graveside service at Twin Falls Cemetery on Monday, July 25 at 10:00 A.M. and  a time for hugs and reminiscing at Parke's Funeral Home immediately following the service. If  you would like to make a donation in her name, the family recommends the Alzheimer’s  Association (www.alz.org) or a charity of your choice.

All services and arrangements are under the direction of the Parke's Magic Valley Funeral Home of Twin Falls, ID.  Those wishing to share memories and condolences may do so on Mary Jane's memorial webpage at www.magicvalleyfuneralhome.com.

To view Mary Calhoun's Video Memories, Click Here: https://youtu.be/Kiq9ghmrJCE

To view Mary Calhoun's Graveside service, Click Here: https://youtu.be/ul479M4nvC0