Mary Sarah Austin Hubbard, 87

Mary Sarah Austin Hubbard passed suddenly Saturday, July 4, 2009, with family beside her, at the age of 87, after enjoying one of her favorite pasttimes, watching her family together on Lake Blaine. "She joins her husband George in heaven, free from the pains of this world and with all the joy of the next."

Mary was born to Ona Mae Milihouse and Forest Lee Austin of Ericson, Neb., on Jan. 11, 1922. She was raised in Ericson along with her two sisters, Alberta and Gladys, and two brothers, Albert "Heine" and George, before she left for Tacoma, Wash.

There she met and married her lifelong companion, George Hubbard, in 1945. Mary and George settled on a farm near Conrad, until moving to Creston with their infant son, Jerry, in 1948. It was in Creston that they made their home, raising their four children, Jerry, Sharon, Robert and Rose. They filled their lives with hunting, fishing, traveling to the coast to go clamming with the Austins, and enjoying the lake with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mary was an avid skier, swimmer and fisherman. She taught her children and grandchildren, even spending her last day watching one of her great-grandchildren dive into the lake for the first time. Her family remembers her hard work, stoic spirit, and as the wind beneath their wings, carrying them forward in all their aspirations. She also served others and was a member of the Eastern Star. She will be dearly missed.

Those who will "greet her at the veil" include her husband, George Hubbard; sister, Alberta Kizer; brothers, Albert and George; and granddaughter, Tiffany Snell.

Those who survive her are her children, Jerry Hubbard, Sharon K. Snell, Robert and Christine Hubbard, and Rose Larson; her grandchildren, Lynnette Cattron, David Hubbard, Jacob Snell, Josh Hubbard and Ashley Hubbard; her great-grandchildren, Kyle, Caleb, Cassandra, Xene and Gwynnovere; and many whose lives she touched and blessed.

"We love and miss you, Mary."