Mary Kathryn Malm

Mary Kathryn Bovey Malm (May 13, 1940 – February 7, 2017) Please join us to celebrate the life of Mary Malm. Remembrance service will be on Saturday, March 11, 2017 at 2:00PM at Mission Del Sol Presbyterian Church 1565 E. Warner Road Tempe, Arizona 85284 480-820-9944 Born Mary Kathryn Bovey on May 13, 1940 in Boise, Idaho, she was the first child of Robert Dewey Bovey and Mary Martha Parrott Bovey. She was preceded in death by her father in 1969; her sister, Roberta Diane Bovey Spitznagel in 1997; and her mother in 2010. She is survived by her brothers Robert Dewey Bovey, Jr. of Stafford, Virginia, and Edward Michael Bovey of Timberon, New Mexico; as well as her foster son Travis (Jake) Boyer of Gilbert, Arizona. Mary lived and attended school in Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah. After moving with her family to Milwaukie, Oregon in 1957, she graduated from Milwaukie Union High School in 1958. She graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon in 1962 with a BA in Mathematics and received an MA in Teaching from the University of Oregon in 1966. Mary was a consummate musician who played the piano, flute, and organ with great skill. She won a place in the International Order of Forester’s Robin Hood Band to march in the 1960 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. For several years, Mary played flute and piccolo in the Portland, Oregon Junior Symphony in addition to High School Band and orchestra participation. In college she was active in Mu Phi Epsilon a Coeducational Professional Fraternity for the Advancement of Music in the Community, Nation, and World and served in the Phoenix, Arizona, Chapter. When teaching in Connecticut, she took organ lessons and eventually purchased and restored a pipe organ in her Phoenix home. The organ was the center for many gatherings of friends and family during holidays. A dedicated educator, Mary’s first teaching experience was at the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut after receiving her Bachelor’s degree. She also taught at the Foreman School in Litchfield, Connecticut before coming to Phoenix to be near her mother. After a brief hiatus from education as an administrator in an employment agency, she returned to teaching and advocating for children with special needs. She eventually taught mathematics on television and at night school at Rio Salado Community College. In 1984 Mary was elected to the Governing Board of the Creighton Elementary School Number 14 of Maricopa County, Arizona where she served three terms ending in 1996. She also served as the Principal at Sacaton Middle School in the Gila River Indian Community before retiring from education. A life-long Christian Scientist, Mary was a member of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts as well as local branch churches in Connecticut and Arizona. She was most recently a member of Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Scottsdale, Arizona. She served in various positions in branch churches in Kent, Connecticut, and Scottsdale during her lifetime. Family was very important to Mary and she loved helping with family matters, of particular importance to her was supporting Travis and his children; she enjoyed participating in and guiding their activities. She was also devoted to her canine family members, most recently Dolly. Mary’s joy and love of music and education will be sorely missed by her family and many friends and associates. Remembrances may be sent in her memory to Mu Phi Epsilon to: Beverly W. Abegg, Treasurer, Mu Phi Epsilon Foundation, 8 Phillips Drive, Westford, MA 01886-3409.