Mary Catherine Paullin Beene died peacefully on June 1, 2018, at her home in Winnemucca, Nevada. Mary was born September 9, 1941, in Sandpoint, Idaho, to Robert and Eunice Riley Paullin.
She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Education at Western Montana College at Dillon and later a Master’s degree at Western Colorado University at Gunnison.
A year after college, she chose a warmer climate and moved to Kingman, Arizona. There, she met and married her husband, Wayne, in 1966.
They followed mining all over the West for 35 years. She taught at elementary schools in Montana, Arizona, Colorado, and California, before retiring after 13 years teaching first grade at Sonoma Heights Elementary School in Winnemucca.
She was a member of Silver State Chapter #6, Order of the Eastern Star and the Winnemucca chapter of the PEO Sisterhood, and she served on the Humboldt County Library Board of Directors. She was very active in the Winnemucca United Methodist Church, and she was a volunteer for many other community organizations and events. She also traveled extensively and enjoyed gardening, reading, cooking, knitting, and cross-stitch.
Mary is survived by her husband Wayne and children April (Robert) Howard of Elko and Eric (Mary) of Savannah, Georgia; grandchildren Shanie Howard, Katie (Garrett) Powell, Mallory Howard, and Isaac Beene; brother Robert (Gloria) Paullin of Arizona and sister Doris (Carl) Clift of California.
A memorial service will be held Monday, June 11, at 11 a.m., at Winnemucca United Methodist Church, followed by a reception in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Mary’s memory can be made to Winnemucca United Methodist Church or an education charity.
