Obituary of Mary Alice Bellows Lurz

Mary Alice Bellows Lurz, age 79, went to be with the Lord on September 13, 2015. She was surrounded by family and peacefully passed in hospice care at Lake Regional Health System in Osage Beach, Missouri. She was born at St. Joseph’s hospital in Elgin, Illinois on August 12, 1936 to Howard and Ruth (Stuart) Bellows and grew up with one brother, John “Biff” Bellows. She was a Modern dancer as a teen and passed her passion onto her granddaughters. Later in life, her daughters would enjoy watching her cut a rug swing dancing with their dad. Mary graduated from Elgin High School in 1954 and attended Seabury nursing school in Illinois on full scholarship. She married Donald “Red” Lurz on August 10, 1957 and settled down in Batavia, Illinois where they began to grow their family. They had three daughters, Debbie, Kathy, and Cindy; and one son, Donnie. Mary was more than a mother to her daughters; she was their best friend. In Illinois she was active in the Catholic Church. She also loved to vacation with her family at the Lake of the Ozarks. In 1971, Red and Mary decided they loved the lake so much that they packed up the family to become full-time residents. They lived on the water for nearly 23 years and enjoyed boating, swimming, and watching their girls water-ski. Mary managed Don’s construction business for 45 years. Before retirement, she was the bookkeeper at Clary’s Concrete. Starting in the late ‘70s and spanning nearly 30 years, Mary and Red enjoyed vacationing in the Caribbean. Mary especially loved snorkeling. She would always come home with beautiful pictures, sea shells, coral, and fun gifts for the grandkids. Mary loved being a grandma. She was active in all of her grandchildren’s lives, attending as many sporting events, dance recitals, birthdays, and graduations she could. She was an avid gardener surrounding her home with beautiful plants. Mary is survived by husband, Donald Lurz, of 58 years; daughters, Debbie (husband Tim) Carnahan and Cindy (husband Jerome) Slenker; brother, John (wife Carol) Bellows; 6 grandchildren; 3 great grandchildren; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her parents, Ruth and Howard Bellows; daughter, Katherine Williams; son, Donald Lurz; and brother, Gary Bellows.