Mary Margaret Wolk

MARY MARGARET WOLK

Lisbon

Mary Margaret (Hartenberger) Wolk, 78, of Lisbon, Iowa, died suddenly Saturday, April 28, 2018.

Mary was born Jan. 5, 1940, to the late Robert and Anna (Zache) Hartenberger of Mount Vernon. She graduated from Mount Vernon High School in 1958. She was married to Vincent Wolrab of Mount Vernon from 1957 to 1971 and to Peter Wolk of New Jersey from 1973 to 2002.

In addition to raising five children born over the span of 20 years, Mary worked at a number of area companies, including several years at WMT, where she appeared as Mary Walker on "Home Fare," a locally produced television program aimed at homemakers. She also worked at the Montrose Hotel and at Nissen Trampoline as an executive secretary.

After she left Cedar Rapids in 1973, Mary lived in Limerick, Ireland; Pittsburgh, Pa.; and in several locations in Southern California, most notably in Ojai from 1986 to 994. She became a teacher for Laurel Springs School in Ojai. Mary also served initially as producer and ultimately as managing director of the Ojai Shakespeare Festival from 1988 to 1994. When she retired, she returned home to Iowa to be near her sisters, Sho (Shirley) Allison and Carol Walden, both of Mount Vernon.

In addition to her love of music and theater, Mary was an avid gardener and a great hostess. She often joked that she knew how to "make something out of nothing" and it was true, for her home always was warm and inviting, even when times were tough. In her later years, she was fortunate to become a neighbor and close friend of Marcia Bowers, who has been a tremendous blessing to her in recent times. After many years of searching, she returned to her Christian roots, and took great comfort in her prayer life. Recently, she had a faith experience in which she was assured of her eternal life with Jesus Christ her Lord and personal Savior. She was deeply loved and will be terribly missed.

Mary is survived by her sisters; her children, Laura Lucke (husband, Tom) of Lexington, Mass., Lance Wolrab (wife, Karen) of Duluth, Ga., Rebecca Sahlin (husband, Paul) of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, and Deborah Wolk of Canyon Country, Calif.; nine grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

She was predeceased by her son, Lawrence, and his son, Gabriel.

Friends and family are invited to attend a remembrance of her life on Saturday, May 5, at 2 p.m. at First Federated Church, 115 N. Walnut St., Lisbon, IA 52253.