Mary Carol Wenger

Mary Carol Wenger

December 4, 1941 - March 28, 2024

Many Passions, Many Paths, Many Friends

Mary (Skiba) Wenger was many things to many people in her 82 years of life. Daughter, student, wife, mom, grandmother, scholar, educator, small business owner, optician, dedicated volunteer, inventive cook, gardener, bird watcher, avid practitioner of all types of needle work, from knitting to sewing.

Mary Carol Skiba was born December 4, 1941, to Ethel and Edward Skiba, in Niagara Falls, NY. She attended public school in Niagara Falls, and met her future husband, Jerry Wenger, at Niagara Falls High School. Mary graduated early from Niagara Falls High School and enrolled in Rosary Hill College.

Mary and Jerry were married over 65 years by the time of her passing, on March 28, 2024. They raised three children: April (Wenger) McKay, Joseph Edward Wenger and Diane (Wenger) Freeman.

They shared the joys and sorrows of their lives together, including the tragic loss of their only son, Joseph Wenger, in 1983, at the age of 21.

Mary went back to college after all of her children were in school. She graduated from Buffalo State College with a BA in Education and became a teacher of Family and Consumer Sciences - Home Economics. She later earned a Master’s in Education. She went back to school once again with her daughter, Diane, where they both earned degrees in Optical Science and became opticians.

Mary's career as a teacher began at St. Mary's Catholic High School in Buffalo, NY, then to Clarkston High School and Lakeside High Schools in DeKalb County, GA. She and Jerry owned and operated quick serve restaurants in Georgia for a few years, then they both went on to pursue other educational degrees.

Mary loved being an optician, working for Lens Crafters and also for Walmart Optical, in Gainesville, GA.

She still loved to teach and led sewing classes at local schools. Always an enthusiastic gardener, she took it further, becoming a Hall County Master Gardener, where she often led classes and forums for other gardening enthusiasts. Mary was fairly well known in the area as the Hellebore Lady of Hall County.

Her love of needlecraft led her to Tiny Stitches.org, a group of volunteers who use their skills to create hand-crafted clothing, bedding and other items for North Georgia newborns whose families need help in providing those things. She sewed literally hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of items of clothing and blankets for this group, and loved attending their work sessions.

Mary is pre-deceased by her parents, Ethel (Olejarz) Skiba and Edward Skiba, as well as her son, Joseph Wenger.

She is survived by her husband, Jerry. Her daughter April (Wenger) McKay, David McKay, her husband, and their daughter, Alison Marie McKay, as well as Diane (Wenger) Freeman and her husband Ty Freeman, survive her also.

There will be an upcoming Celebration of Mary's life, in May, 2024. Details have not been fully worked out at this point but we plan it to be in an outdoor space, to celebrate her love of the outdoors and nature.

In lieu of any tributes, please feel free to donate to Tiny Stitches.org, in her honor.

Memorial Park Funeral Home, 2030 Memorial Park Road, Gainesville, GA  30504 is in charge of arrangements.

Send online condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com