Mary Ann Nielsen

Mary Ann Carey Nielsen, 81, passed away peacefully Wednesday, October 5, 2022, at Mercy One Hospice in Johnston, after a courageous year-long battle with breast cancer.

Mary Ann was born June 28, 1941, in Fonda, Iowa, the daughter of William and Hazel Carey. She attended Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Fonda, graduating in 1959. She attended Briar Cliff College in Sioux City for two years before moving to Omaha, where she was employed by the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. Through a mutual work friend, she met Ron Nielsen, the love of her life. The two were married on September 20, 1969. Ron’s company relocated them to Boston, Massachusetts, and it was here that their first child, Robert William, was born in November of 1970. Ron was transferred to Des Moines in October of 1972 and the couple built their life on the northwest side of Des Moines. Their second child, Kathleen Ann (Kate), was born in March of 1974. The children attended Johnston Community Schools from kindergarten until they graduated, and Mary Ann was an active parent and generous volunteer in her kids’ school community. She was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Beaverdale for the past 50 years. A faithful Catholic, she found great comfort in praying the rosary daily.

Mary Ann began working again in 1983 when she accepted a position at Mercy Hospital in health education. She went on to hold various positions at Mercy, in the government relations department and as the Director of Volunteer Services, the position she held when she retired in 2000. During her career at Mercy, she returned to school to finish the degree she started. In 1995, she graduated from Simpson College with a degree in speech communication and management. She became a talented presenter and grant writer, as well as a grassroots lobbyist for a variety of health initiatives.

Retirement from Mercy didn’t mean actual retirement. Mary Ann accepted a position at AIB College of Business as the Director of Career Services, helping graduates get jobs. She continued her work there for ten years, retiring as the Senior Director of Advancement and member of the President’s Cabinet in 2010. She continued to work as a contracted grant writer until 2020. She was known throughout Des Moines for her volunteerism, serving on countless boards. At one point, there were 20 active positions on her resume. She was given the Governor’s Volunteer Award four times and, along with her husband, was named Johnston’s Citizen of the Year in 2006. She was selected as an Iowa Woman of Achievement in 2010 and received the Iowa Radio Reading Information Service for the Blind and Print Handicapped (IRIS) Dorothy B. Kirsner Award in 2014.

Mary Ann’s actual retirement years were filled with family get-togethers and the activities of her three beloved grandsons, who called her Gram. She was an avid bridge player with several groups, loved going out to lunch with the ladies, and could often be found out shopping for pretty pink things. Mary Ann is survived by her son, Robert (Michelle); daughter, Kate (Tony); grandsons, Jake, Luke and Alex, and so many dear, wonderful friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and three brothers Richard, Robert, and baby John, and many beloved first cousins who were like siblings to her.

Visitation will be held at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home, 8201 Hickman Road, Urbandale, on Tuesday, October 11 from 4-7 p.m., with the rosary beginning at 7 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 2926 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines. The family will receive visitors from 10-11 a.m.

If you are able and comfortable, please wear pink to both services to honor our Pink Lady. Mary Ann spread joy wherever she went so let’s joyfully celebrate the end of her life with a sea of pink.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Iowa Radio Reading Information Service for Blind and Print Handicapped (IRIS), or Mercy Hospice of Johnston.