Mary C. Malban

Mary Creed Malban passed away at age 94 on November 3, 2020. She was born to Carney E. and Elsie (Creed) Chatten in La Grange, IL on August 10, 1926. She graduated from Lions Township High School outside of Chicago in 1944 and received a B.A. in English from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, IL where she was House President for the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. She met and later married John R. “Jack” Malban who was President of the Theta Chi Fraternity. Mary taught school for several years after college in a small schoolhouse in rural Illinois before becoming a homemaker and raising three children with Jack. The family lived in Topeka, Kansas for 6 ½ years, and it was there Mary met many people important to mid-century America through the Menninger Foundation. She and Jack attended a cocktail party with novelist Truman Capote who brought along his childhood friend, Harper Lee, who herself was about to publish a novel of her own. She also met Helen Keller and Eleanor Roosevelt who was driven 65 miles to the Kansas City Airport in the family's 1955 Dodge. It’s in Logansport, Indiana she also knew Steve Armstrong who worked in the mental health care field with Jack. Steve’s son, Neil became famous some 15 years later. Mary was at heart an educator. She taught high school classes for over 15 years in the Hastings school system. As a true mother does, she celebrated the successes and lives of others more so than her own. She found her joy in being a voracious reader of periodicals and novels and thoroughly enjoyed shouting out correct answers to Trivial Pursuit questions when not her turn. She liked to watch Jeopardy every day and it is the families thought that she was ready to go after Alex Trebek taped his last show. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Jack; beloved daughter, Katherine Creed Harthun; and her sister, Jane Marquis of Tennessee. She is survived by her sons, David of Duluth and Greg (Jessica) of Woodbury; grandchildren, John N. “Jack” Malban of St. Paul and Kaley Creed Malban (Daniel Cravens) of Cedar Crest, NM; and son in law, Jeff Harthun of Dallas, TX Mary was a longtime member and supporter of the Resurrection United Methodist Church of Hastings. A private gathering has been held at the funeral home. The family wishes to thank the staff at Regions Hospital where Mary was well cared for in her final illness. Starkson Family Life Celebration Chapel is serving the family.