Mary Jo Quayle
February 13, 1937 - May 11, 2024
Mary Jo Quayle, 87, died with family by her side on Saturday, May 11, 2024, at the Help for Health Hospice Home. Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, May 18, at St. James Episcopal Church in Riverton, Wyoming.
Mary Jo Quayle was born February 13, 1937, in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Her father served in the United States army as a tank commander and she spent her formative years traveling and attending military schools in Europe and America. She was part of a class that went on a field trip to watch the Nuremberg Trials in Germany. After graduating from high school, she attended the University of Colorado where she met the love of her life, Don Quayle.
After getting married and graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in education, they moved to Rapid City, South Dakota, where her mother and father had retired, and Don taught and coached at Ellsworth Air Force Base. There she gave birth to her oldest son, Richard Clayton Quayle, and youngest son, Robert Scott Quayle. The family then moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where Don earned his doctorate of education degree.
After graduating the family moved to Riverton, Wyoming, where Don worked as an instructor and department chair at Central Wyoming College. Mary Jo worked as a teacher for School District #25. She started out her first year of teaching with a 90-mile daily round trip to Gas Hills to teach elementary grades. She then moved to Jefferson School teaching third grade, and finished her career teaching reading at Rendezvous Middle School in Riverton. As a teacher she took great pride and put great effort into her students and profession.
With her spare time during her teaching career Mary Jo enjoyed riding horses, skiing, golfing, playing tennis, playing bridge, and Square Dancing. She was a woman of great faith and attended St. James Episcopal Church every Sunday. During this time, she was an active homemaker for her family and loved socializing with friends at dinner parties and New Years trips to Spring Creek Ranch in Jackson.
After retiring she and Dot Sanderson played tennis in the early morning and then golfed, walking the front nine and using a cart on the back nine, in the late morning before it "got too hot." She was also involved in numerous bridge clubs and loved to socialize with friends. During this time, she spent the majority of her time enjoying her 5 grandchildren. She also developed a keen interest in art and did a lot of drawing and painting, taking several classes at Central Wyoming College.
Mary Jo is survived by her sister Sue; son Dick and his wife Jodi; son Scott and his wife LeAnn; five grandchildren, Alex (Finlayson), Kati, Lauren (Devin Dooley), Seth, and Chris; and four great-grandchildren; Taylor Finlayson, Trysten Dooley, Madison Finlayson, and Jaxin Dooley.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Mary and Robert Isett; her husband Don, and her older brother Bob.
Memorials may be made to Help for Health Hospice Home or St. James Episcopal Church in care of the Davis Funeral Home, 2203 W. Main Street, Riverton, Wyoming 82501.
Condolences may be made at TheDavisFuneralHome.com
Services are under the direction of the Davis Funeral Home, Crematory and Monuments.