Mary L. Vorland

Mary Louise Harmon was born to Sidney and Ruby (Citurs) Harmon on February 7, 1950, in Mason City, Iowa. She grew up on a farm near Northwood, Iowa, graduating from Northwood-Kensett High School in 1968. She graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1972.

On August 5, 1972, she married the love of her life, James Vorland, and they moved to Preston, Iowa, where they both had teaching jobs. They were blessed with two sons, Michael and David. Mary taught English and speech classes at Preston High School for 40 years and directed plays and musicals for 28 years.

Mary was a member of the Preston United Methodist Church, the Preston Woman’s Club, the Jackson County Historical Society, the American Legion Auxiliary, The National Council of Teachers of English, Preston Community Education Association/ISEA/NEA, served on the historical society’s board of directors and the Preston Manna Center board. She played with a local bridge foursome for over 40 years.

Mary was an avid reader and had a deep love of history, leading to her love of creating period clothing, furniture, and architectural detail for plays. She enjoyed traveling, socializing with friends and family, and attending plays as well as directing them. She cherished the friendship of those who helped with her drama projects through the years. Along with Jim, she also enjoyed many outdoor activities such as camping, canoeing, riding motorcycles, rock climbing, and cross country skiing. She was also very interested in genealogy, tracing the ancestry for both her and Jim’s families back to towns and villages in Europe and personally exploring tiny cemeteries in the Northeastern United States.

Mary and Jim were married for 53 years and were blessed with many dear friends. Mary and Jim have been especially grateful for the strong support from friends and family during her final battle with breast cancer.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Sid and Ruby Harmon, Jim’s parents, Howard and Shirley Vorland, and great-nephew Aidan Brunsvold. She is survived by her loving husband Jim, her sons Mike (Andrea) and David (Megan), grandson Lee Parker Vorland, her sister JoAnn (Steve) Brunsvold, niece Susan (Jeff) Haselhoff (Everett) and nephew Bradley (Shana) Brunsvold (Piper and Callan). She is also survived by Jim’s siblings, Tom (Joan) Vorland, Jeanine Vorland, and Marianne (T. A.) Sandberg, and three nephews, Rhyne Isadora, Daniel (Sarah) Sandberg (Malcolm), and Steven (Katie Brooks) Sandberg (Julia).

The visitation and memorial service in Preston, IA will be at the Law Jones Funeral Home. The visitation will be from 1:00pm to 3:30pm on Wednesday, January 28th. The memorial service will be at 3:30pm with a meal to follow at the Preston Town Hall.