Mary Gaines Obituary

Mary Gaines, a 40-year resident of Durango, passed away on November 5, 2017 in Centennial, CO. She was born to Francis and Dorothy Belt-Gaines on June 14, 1929 in Omaha, NE.

Mary grew up on a 40-acre farm in Omaha riding and showing horses. Her passion for horses continued throughout her life. She went to preparatory schools in Colorado Springs and in Nashville (Ward Belmont) where she rode horses, played field hockey and basketball. At 5'11', Mary was a natural athlete.

Mary was also a talented pianist. She attended the University of Nebraska and studied piano. She played the Grieg Concerto with the Omaha Symphony Orchestra and recorded and performed jazz and American songbook pieces on two pianos with a fellow student and performing partner. Preparing for a career as a concert pianist, she auditioned for The Julliard School. Although she was not accepted into Julliard, music and performance continued to play a role in her life. At the University of Nebraska, she performed in a talent show that was emceed by Johnny Carson and later went on one date with him.

In 1948, she married Gerald Hall in Omaha. They had one daughter, Peggy. The marriage later ended in divorce.

After her divorce, Mary worked many jobs, including as an administrative assistant in the Air Force and with United Airlines as well as secretary for the manager of the Blackstone Hotel in Omaha.

In 1956, she married David K. Martin and moved to Boulder, CO. They had two daughters, Melanie and Mollie. Mary and David were very active in the Boulder County Democratic Party. They hosted Eugene McCarthy at their Boulder home and worked tirelessly for Democratic candidates and causes on the local, regional and national levels. After their divorce, Mary continued to be a driving force in the party and ran many successful campaigns, including Pat Burrows (Colorado State House Dist. 52) and Alex Hunter (Boulder County District Attorney). She was chair of the Democratic Women of Boulder County for a time. Her love of animals drove her to work for years as a board member of the Boulder County Humane Society. She supported herself and kids during the day as a legal secretary.

In 1977, Mary moved her kids and many animals (14 cats, two dogs and two horses) to Durango as an owner of the newly built Burger King restaurant. She also invested in the new Farmington NM Burger King. Mary was a successful business owner despite the barriers that she encountered as a divorced female in the 1970's. After several years, she sold her interest in both Burger King restaurants.

After retirement, Mary spent her time working out at Monie's Body Shop and hiking with friends. She was an avid Nebraska Huskers fan and loved watching classic movies, especially musicals, and Lonesome Dove reruns on TV. In her later years, she enjoyed her routines of shopping at North City Market on Thursdays, at Nature's Oasis and Sunnyside Meats on Fridays and picking up dinner and cheeses to go at Guido's every Saturday evening.

Mary never understood or learned to use a computer, but was in awe of the questions that could be answered by searching the Internet. When she first heard of Google, she pictured a room where people sat behind huge books all day waiting for a question to answer. As a result, she coined the phrase "Ask the Google people!"

Mary's family is grateful to all the wonderful people of Durango who treated Mary with such kindness, including all her caregivers who cared for her 24 hours a day over the last 3 years and the owners and staff of Guido's, Nature's Oasis, Sunnyside Meats, North City Market, Advantage Physical Therapy, Performance Cardiology, Crazy Horse Salon, Fitness Solutions and many others. Mary considered each of them a friend. Mary was a proud, independent woman with a great sense of humor and she will be greatly missed.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Tyler Gaines.

She is survived by her daughters Peggy Lesher (Chuck) of Chandler, AZ, Melanie McLean (Hal) of Durango, Mollie Martin of Centennial, CO, half-brother Frank Gaines (Jan) of Omaha, NE, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, , numerous nieces, one nephew and her beloved three-legged cat, Hop-a-long.

Cremation has occurred and no services are planned in Durango. Mary will be laid to rest in Omaha with her family. Memorial contributions may be made to La Plata County Humane Society.