Mary McLaughlin, 85

Former Blair resident Mary (Payne) McLaughlin, 85, of Villa Park, Ill., died Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2008. Funeral services were Saturday, Feb. 16.

Mary Payne was born July 4, 1922, in Oklahoma to Nellie Johnson and El Payne. She moved to Blair when she was one year old. Her grandfather, Magnus Johnson, was mayor of the city from 1916 to 1920.

Her first job was as a telephone operator for the Blair Telephone Company. She graduated from Immanuel Nursing School, and served as a Navy nurse during World War II, serving in the Pacific area. After the war, she worked at Hines Veterans Hospital in Chicago, Ill.

She is survived by her children, Kathy McAlister and Patrick McLaughlin, both of Villa Park; three grandchildren; and cousins, John, Janet, Jim and Gerald Foley, all of Blair, and Dr. Robert Foley of Kendall, S.D.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Phillip McLaughlin.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~