Mary L. Williams

Mary L.  Williams, age 89, of 44 Stacey Lane, Middleburg, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday, November 2, 2018 while a guest at Emmanuel Center For Nursing in Danville, where she resided since May, 2017.

Born in Shamokin on August 8, 1929, she was a daughter of the late Arthur and Mary (Schaum) Wertz. She was a 1947 graduate of Mt. Carmel High School and a 1951 graduate of Temple University Hospital School of Nursing.

Following college, she returned to Mt. Carmel to care for her mother and before long she was working at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. At Geisinger she worked in various departments: Medical Surgery, Intensive Care, Nursery, Pediatrics, and became one of the first Neonatal Intensive Care  Unit nurses, then to the Emergency Department and then became one of the first Life Flight nurses., retiring after 33 years.

Mary was honored as Employee of  the month . After she retired the Emergency Department established an annual award in her name to honor the Emergency Department Doctor that best exemplifies teaching.

Her greatest love was her children and grandchildren. She loved to  read, cook, visit friends and family, singing in the choir at Church, and playing with Matty, her granddaughter Dana’s dog.

Mary was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Chapter in Sunbury. She served as President of the PA Nurses Association where she met many wonderful nurses, EMT’s, and ambulance personnel as she visited the various Emergency Departments. The highlight of that experience was a trip to Hawaii. From local president to state president was an unforgettable experience.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy Wertz and a brother Robert Wertz who was killed in World War II.

Surviving are two daughters: Mary L. Williams, Sunbury and Barbara A. Marinin, with whom she resided in Middleburg; a son, Bruce A. Williams, and his wife Carol, Danville; three granddaughters: Dana, wife of Jason Genco, Chicago, Ill., Katelyn Williams and Kelsey Williams, both of Danville; a great-granddaughter, Ana Genco; a brother Ronald Wertz, and his wife Joan, Montana and a number of nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday at 10:00 a. m. in the Roat-Kriner Funeral Home, 1133 Bloom Road, Danville.   Private interment  will be in Mt. Carmel Cemetery. The family will greet friends from 9 to 10 a. m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Emmanuel Center For Nursing,  11 Schoolhouse Road, Danville, PA 17821 or to the Life Flight Program at Geisinger Medical Center, 100 N. Academy Ave., Danville, PA 17822.