Mary Ellen (Kittams) Tynes

Mary Ellen (Kittams) Tynes, age 95, died peacefully at home on Sunday afternoon, July 17, 2022, after a recent diagnosis of acute leukemia. Mary was born on October 2, 1926, in the old Columbus Hospital in Great Falls. She grew up in the Boston Heights neighborhood graduating from Great Falls High School in 1944. She had four brothers and three sisters, all of whom preceded her in death. Mary loved ice skating on the frozen pond in Gibson Park and being a baton twirler with the high school band. She remembers helping her family with their backyard Victory Garden. During her high school years, she met her future husband, Arthur Tynes, and they soon discovered they were born a day apart in the same hospital. This discovery marked the beginning of their future shared journey. After high school, Mary attended stenographer school in Ohio to help with the late war efforts. In 1946, she married her high school sweetheart, Arthur, after he returned from WWII service with the Navy. Soon thereafter, their first stop on their lives’ venture was a move to Bozeman, where Art pursued a bachelor’s degree at Montana State University, while Mary did secretarial work for a lawyer. After Art obtained his undergraduate degree, they moved to Eugene, Oregon, and then later to Corvallis, Oregon, where he taught at OSU while earning his doctorate degree in Physics. During Art’s collegiate years, Mary gave birth to five children over the span of 12 years. The next stop on their life path together brought Mary and Art to New Jersey in 1961 after Art was offered employment as a research physicist for Bell Labs. Mary was a homemaker, raised five children, and was active as a Girl Scout leader, later going back to work for the Civil Service as a secretary. The family enjoyed summer vacations to their hometown of Great Falls and spending time at the family cabin on the Smith River, later building their own family cabin on the Smith River property. The last stop for Mary and Art involved retiring in 1990 and moving ‘back home” to Great Falls, where they built a home overlooking the city lights and thoroughly enjoyed retired life. Mary and Art often spent the winter months in Arizona, or traveled to visit childhood friends and family, and even took a trip around the globe for their 50th anniversary. Mary was preceded in death by Art, her husband of 75 years, in January of 2022. Mary is survived by her five children, Richard Tynes (Tucson, AZ), Cathlyn Dutzer (Great Falls), Julianne Holiday (Helena, MT), Ronald Tynes (Philippines), and Randall Tynes (Red Bank, NJ). Mary leaves nine grandchildren and one great- grandchild (with another on the way). Mary’s family memorial will be held together with husband, Art’s memorial - together into this world, together through a lifetime spanning over 95 years, and now together into eternity.