It is with great sorrow that the world has lost a true gift and blessing to all who ever knew her. But the heavens have gained a true angel. My mom Mary Scheel passed to the other side on Thursday, October 13, 2022. She was an inspiration and a shining light for all to see. She loved this world, and she loved all of you and also me. She never had even the slightest bad will for anyone. She was always there to help anyone who needed a kind word or an ear to listen. And she always knew what you needed.
She loved her two children, Billy and Cathy, and her grandchildren, Adam, Kaylee and Devere. But above all, she loved her clients and her business.
Mary started her life in Pasadena, California, on February 20, 1950. She graduated from Bloomington High School. Then Mary got married while attending college. She soon realized that college in California and a kid on the way meant her path needed to change. Mary, her husband Bill and a group of other ready-to-change-the-world youngsters bailed out and came to Page, Arizona, following her brother Mayo in the early 1970s.
Here in Page, Mary was the babysitter of the Wahweap Trailer Park, overlooking Lake Powell and Wahweap Marina. She cared for all the Wahweap (Del Webb) Marina’s employees’ children in her home. We all got to go through chickenpox together. In a way, you could say that she saved many lives during that week. I vaguely remember hanging out with a bunch of kids with red spots all over their bodies for days.
Anyway, Mary wanted more. She, like many others, got divorced and chose the very rough life of raising two kids: Catherine Williams (Scheel at the time) and Billy Scheel. These two kids were the love of Mary’s life, and she was always there for them into their adult lives and beyond. Mary was and still is their rock. But those two were hell on Mary and everyone else at the time. But regardless, Mary hung tough, and always had their backs no matter what, always!
But Mary needed to feed these deviants. She ended up following her heart into taxes. She worked her ass off. And she eventually had the opportunity to own not one but three separate H&R Block income tax offices in Page, Tuba City and Kayenta. It was at this time when she found her true love and purpose in the world. This is when she established her customer base and her place to really shine. She absolutely loved her clients, and they returned that love to her.
She eventually discovered that she couldn’t serve her clientele the way she really wanted to with a business that wasn’t her own platform. So, she sold her H&R Blocks and the started Q Business Service, where, of course, her clients came along with her and she did it all: taxes, notary services, bookkeeping, payroll, resumes and anything else anyone asked for or needed her to do.
She loved helping people. Mary was a volunteer in the community. She was a founder and participant in Another Way and Friends of the Library. She served in the Chamber of Commerce and the local Soroptimists group. If it was community-related, she was heavily involved. Mary didn’t mind throwing her kids in there for volunteer work, either. It was a family affair, I guess you could say. I think I carried well over a million books from age 8 through my late teenage years. (She had a lot of book sales.)
Mary was a true hero. She will be missed terribly. Do not be sad. Mary loved to see people smile. She loved their laughter, and she loved with all her heart and soul. She is proud of us all. She has fulfilled her purpose, and we all know what she has taught us, and we will all be better people for having known her. Mary Leon Scheel will forever live in our hearts. She is smiling down on us all right now – although she may be a little distracted, as I am sure she is watching her beloved Diamondbacks baseball game or maybe a Dodgers game with her road dog, Suzanne. But nevertheless, she is proud of us all!
Thank you, mom, you are and always will be my hero! I love you!
Her burial will be on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at Page Cemetery.
This is for Mary’s family and close friends.
A celebration of her life will be later that same day, from 2-4 p.m. at Gone West in Page, Arizona. The celebration is going to be a potluck, so bring what you would like to.
All are welcome.
Donations can be sent to Cathy’s PayPal at:
https://paypal.me/MaryQBusiness?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US
