Mary Maxine (Castator) Conrad, 86, passed away Thursday, September 3, at Chandler Place in Kendallville, Indiana. Mary formerly made her home in Albion, Indiana.

Mary came into the world on February 29, 1940, born to Basil and Bessie (Bloomfield) Castator in Kendallville. Being a Leap Year baby was something her family had fun with her entire life. There was something especially funny about watching Mary celebrate her “Sweet Sixteen” at 64 and, years later, her “21st birthday” at 84 — by then surrounded by grandchildren and great-grandchildren who had long since passed some of those milestones themselves.

She grew up on Cree Lake in Kendallville, beginning a lifelong connection to lake life. She told us she ate enough fish during those childhood years to last her a lifetime and wanted absolutely nothing to do with it as an adult. Mary loved hunting for morel mushrooms, too, although she had no interest in eating those either. For her, the fun was in finding them.

On January 19, 1959, Mary married Donald Francis Conrad in Kendallville. Mary and Don built their life together in Cromwell, Indiana, where they raised their children, Crystal and Brian. After their children were grown, Mary and Don moved to a property east of Ligonier, Indiana, in the country.

Life was not always easy. Don suffered from severe arthritis for many years. But together, they continued caring for their family and the home they had worked so hard to make their own. They shared more than 37 years of marriage before Don passed away on September 6, 1996, at the age of 57.

After losing Don, Mary began a new chapter and moved to Lower Long Lake in Albion. She loved the life she made for herself there. She had her own pontoon boat and was perfectly comfortable behind the wheel, which her family still thinks was pretty cool. Not every grandma could captain a pontoon boat, but then again: Mary was never one to be intimidated by much. The independence and determination it took suited her perfectly.

Mary worked over the years at Joann’s Hallmark in Ligonier and at Freudenberg, but a list of places she worked says very little about the Mary her family knew.

She was feisty and bullheaded, but she was sweet, too. She liked things the way she liked them. If the furniture had been in one place long enough, there was a good chance Mary would decide it belonged somewhere else. She was proud of her home and especially proud of her yard. She could often be found riding her lawnmower or outside watering and tending to her flowers. She loved purple flowers, hummingbirds and sitting down with a word search.

She was a member of the Cromwell Evangelical Lutheran Church for many years, where she enjoyed being a part of the church community.

Mary also loved bowling and participated in a league for many years. She enjoyed the competition. But even more than that, she loved the fun and friendships that came with it.

And then there was Christmas.

Mary loved Christmas in a way her family will never be able to separate from their memories of her. Multicolored lights ran along the eaves of her house. Inside was her collection of Santa Clauses and Christmas trees everywhere, with a tree in nearly every room. Her grandchildren remember helping Grandma decorate the tree with “White Christmas” playing and one of her malted chocolate milkshakes in hand. When there was enough snow outside, there was sledding, too.

Those milkshakes were only one of the things that came out of Mary’s kitchen that her family still talks about. There were her spaghetti and meatballs and her ham and beans. There was homemade peanut brittle and there were crunchy chocolate chip cookies. And then there were the deviled eggs. Her grandchildren were known to eat so many that they practically made themselves sick, and yet somehow that never stopped them from doing it again the next time. Mary loved her milk-chocolate Hershey’s, too.

These may seem like little things. But to her family, they are Mary.

She was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister and aunt, and she loved far beyond the immediate branches of her family tree. She shared particularly close relationships with her nieces Trina and Teri and her nephews Denver and Rex. Many of her nieces and nephews considered Mary their favorite aunt, a distinction that says quite a bit about the place she held in their lives.

Mary is survived by her children, Crystal Marie Targgart of Wawaka, Indiana, and Brian Lee Conrad (Sione) of Kimmell, Indiana; her grandchildren, Matthew Targgart of Ligonier, Travis (Brequelle) Targgart of Kimmell, and Stacey (Travis) Holton of Indianapolis, Indiana; her great-grandchildren, Aiden, Layne, Brock, Lucy, Emmett, Max and Sammy; her sister Debra Eshem of Chester, Virginia; and many beloved nieces, nephews and extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Francis Conrad; her parents, Basil and Bessie (Bloomfield) Castator; her sister Sharon Elkins; her brother, Jack Castator; her son-in-law, Roger Targgart; and her granddaughter-in-law Candice Targgart.

Mary leaves behind a lifetime of memories tucked into ordinary things.

Her family will think of her whenever a hummingbird appears outside the window or purple flowers begin to bloom. When someone spots the first morel in the spring. When “White Christmas” comes on and when multicolored lights appear on houses in December. When there are deviled eggs on the table or someone makes a chocolate milkshake that is good but still isn’t quite Grandma’s.

They will remember Christmas trees and Santa Clauses, sledding in the snow, Hershey bars and word searches. They will remember a woman who could be stubborn and feisty, who took pride in the things she worked for, who loved her family deeply, and who gave them so many traditions and stories that will continue long after her lifetime.

At Mary’s request, a graveside service and committal will be held at Sparta Cemetery in Kimmell on Tuesday, September 8, at 2:30 p.m., where she will be laid to rest beside Don.