Mary Kelly McCue

Mary Kelly McCue

HELENA — Mary Kelly McCue, age 60, died on Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011, in Helena, after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

She was born Mary Lynn Kelly on June 6, 1950, in Havre, Mont., to Lloyd and Leone "Rickie" Kelly, the oldest of their three children. She attended St. Jude Grade School and graduated from Havre Central High School in 1968.

While in high school, she worked in her father's retail music store, The Music Center. She attended Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., and there earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and a teaching certificate in secondary education in 1972.

During college and following graduation, she worked for the Great Northern and Burlington Northern Railroads as a telegrapher and train agent. She greatly enjoyed this job, in which she worked in about 40 small train stations throughout Montana. Following graduation from college, she taught English at Dawson County High School in Glendive, Mont., during the 1972-73 school year. She also worked in Burlington Northern's corporate headquarters in St. Paul, Minn., on employee publications for almost two years.

Mary attended Gonzaga University School of Law, where she was an editor of the law review. She earned her law degree there in 1980. From 1980 to 1984, she worked for the state of Washington as an administrative law judge for the Office of Administrative Hearings.

While a law student, she met her future husband, Stephen R. McCue, a fellow student, and they were married on Aug. 15, 1981, in Havre. They moved to Sunnyside, Wash., where their first child, Kevin, was born in 1983.

The family moved to Helena in 1984, where Mary was employed by the Legislative Council as a staff attorney. Mary and Steve were blessed with two more children, Caroline and Patrick. In 1990, she entered private practice, practicing primarily in the areas of administrative law and governmental relations. She became executive director of the Montana Dental Association in 2000, where she worked at the time of her death. She was inducted as an honorary member of the American Dental Association in 2010.

Mary has been an active member of St. Mary Catholic Community during her years in Helena, serving on the Pastoral Council, leading the Children's Liturgy of the Word and teaching in the religious formation program. She also enjoyed volunteering frequently at her children's schools. Her greatest joys were times spent with her family. She enjoyed reading and hiking. She was a volunteer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and taught NAMI's Family-to-Family education program in recent years.

Mary's parents, Lloyd and Rickie Kelly, predeceased her.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen R. McCue; her three children, Kevin K. McCue, Caroline J. McCue and Patrick S. McCue, all of Helena; her brother, Patrick A. (Denise) Kelly and his family, of Kalispell, Mont. ; her sister, Kathleen G. Kelly, of Laramie, Wyo. ; her mother-in-law, Diane McCue Hollinger; her brothers-in-law, Robert P. (Sydney) McCue, Gregory S. (Robi) McCue, Peter T. McCue, and Michael R. (Michelle) McCue, and their families, all of Missoula, Mont. ; and her sisters-in-law, Susan M. (Fred) Kavon of Plentywood, Mont. and Cathleen M. (David) McGoldrick, of Belgrade, Mont., and their families. She is also survived by her aunt, Charlotte Ray; and cousins Jim Ray, Ed Ray and Demrece Keller and their families, all of Big Sandy, Mont., and Sharon Hary of Havre, and her family.

Mary's family thanks Dr. Thomas Weiner and the staff at St. Peter's Hospital Cancer Treatment Center for their skilled and compassionate care of Mary during her illness. The family asks that memorials be made to NAMI-Montana, 616 Helena Ave., Suite 218, Helena, MT 59601, or to St. Peter's Hospital Cancer Treatment Center, 2475 Broadway, Helena, MT 59601, or to the charity of the donor's choice.

A Vigil will be held on Thursday, April 28, 2011, at 5:30 p. m., at St. Mary Catholic Community in Helena. Please come and share your memories of Mary.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 29, 2011, at 12:10 p. m., with Rev. Bart Tolleson as celebrant. To send a condolence to the family or a memory of Mary, please visit: www.retzfuneralhome.com.