Cloudy, 36° F
(Aug. 6, 2004)
A memorial service for Mary Q Vawter Duggleby, 86, Cody, will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Cody today (Tuesday) at 11 a.m. She died Friday, Aug. 6 after a brief illness.
She was born Sept. 6, 1917, on the family homestead in the Sunshine Creek area near Meeteetse, the seventh of eight children of Edith (Potts) and Arlen Vawter. The family later moved to Powell.
As a young woman, she worked at Fort Washakie north of Lander, where she met Stephen John (Jack) Duggleby. They were married June 22, 1940. Her husband was a pilot, and he took her to explore California, Idaho, Washington and Texas before settling in Cody in the early 1950s. She was active in PTA, Campfire Girls, Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts. She was a driving force in the formation of the Grey Ladies, a volunteer organization at the hospital. While working for the Cody Chamber of Commerce, she enjoyed summers in the chamber's sheepwagon in the city park, driving assistance to tourists.
Having grown up in Meeteetse and Powell, she put her knowledge and love of the area to good use. She served on the Park County Museum Board and was a long-time member of the Park County Historical Society.
Her interest in art led her to a long association with the Cody Country Art League. Her basement was often a busy workshop for Daughters of the Nile, whose sewing projects improved the lives of hospitalized children in Wyoming. Many of her best friends were also her bridge partners over the decades.
A long-time volunteer and docent at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, she was a core member of the education committee, donating family artifacts to a hands-on collection, devoting hours to working with school children and conducting tours. She was especially proud that her mother's photographs helped provide a basis for an exhibit replicating the stage stop between Cody and Meeteetse.
She was known as "the hat lady" and "Sparkle." Short in stature, she was tall in spirit. Family and friends were her bedrock.
Survivors include her son, Gary, of Denver; daughters Dorothy Snyder of Black Diamond, Wash., and Dianne Nickman of Helena, Mont.; as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters Ruth Moore of Powell and Dorothy Reed of Bellingham, Wash.
Mary will join her beloved Jack, who died in October of 1991, when her ashes are scattered in Sunlight Basin at the cabin they built, a favorite gathering place for family and friends. Memorials can be sent to the Cody Country Art League, the Park County Historical Society or a charity of choice.
