Mary Sierra of Kalispell greets everyone with open arms.

Sierra’s caring personality and tireless devotion to people in need has earned her the nickname “Grandma Mary.”

What is remarkable about Sierra is her spirit, despite the tribulations of her childhood into young adulthood.

“All I have ever done is reach out to the hungry, the poor, the oppressed,” Sierra said. 

Growing up during the Great Depression, Sierra learned what it meant to be barefoot and hungry.

“It showed me the need,” Sierra said. 

 A father who was an alcoholic compounded the situation.

When she was just 18, her mother committed suicide. After the tragedy, Sierra and her siblings were separated. Her voice trembled recalling this part of her life. 

“I know that I know I had to go through all that so I could be who I am today,” Sierra said wiping her eyes. “Dear Lord I’m going on to 100.”

In two months she will celebrate her 90th birthday. 

Up to now, Sierra has accomplished much for the benefit of others. She has helped build a nondenominational Christian church in Mexico and ministered to the poor who lived in shantytowns. She also worked on the restoration of Medicine Bear Shelter for the homeless in Browning. Eventually, she founded a ministry to collect and distribute food, toys and other resources to people living on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and other Flathead Valley communities.

Today, her passion for mission work continues with numerous random acts of kindness around the valley — whether it’s giving $20 to a person to pay for medication, providing free art lessons or giving testimony from the pulpit. Sierra’s future hope is to minister to women when A Ray of Hope opens its women’s shelter.

“I can minister to them because I’ve pulled through [tough times],” Sierra said with a lively laugh.

Missionary work came later in life after Sierra raised her four children and had worked as a bank officer for 25 years.

“It’s never too late,” Sierra said.

After divorcing an alcoholic husband, Sierra’s son encouraged her to pursue her interest in art. At 52, she became a self-taught artist and uses that as a vehicle to teach others.

“He says ‘mom you’ve always wanted to paint. Here’s an article, it’s seven lessons for $35. Here’s the $35. What’s your excuse.’ That’s how I started,” Sierra said.

Her apartment walls are covered with paintings of flowers and landscapes. Sitting in a chair in her living room during an interview June 27, Sierra pointed over to her most popular painting of Jesus standing amid clouds with his arms outstretched. Sierra said she has received the most requests for prints of it.

“Jesus is the way,” Sierra said.

Sierra has used art therapy to teach free classes for five years at the senior center and five years at her apartment building.

“You get entranced in your work — [painting] the mountains, the lakes and the flowers — and you don’t think about your pain,” Sierra said. “You forget that you’re hurting. You forget about your problems, or your troubles. Then, they get their walkers and their canes [and go home].

“That’s the reason I was self-taught. So I could pay it forward.”

Faith has been central to Sierra’s daily life. As a child she snuck out to attend church, which had been forbidden by her father. Sierra said it wasn’t until she was older that she had a spiritual awakening. 

Sierra remembers it vividly, to the time of day — 9 a.m., March 20, 1981, in the parking lot of the bank she worked at in California.

“A young man, 24 years old, brought me to the Lord,” Sierra said.

Days before, she had finally visited the young man, a neighbor and friend, who was dying of leukemia. She resisted visiting him for a long time fearful to see her vibrant, athletic neighbor ravaged by illness. 

“He didn’t even look sick, yet he was about to die,” Sierra said tearing up. “He holds my hand he says, ‘don’t be afraid I’m going to a better place I’ve already gone and come back.’ They had told me he died and came back and then he told me what he saw.”

Sierra said her young friend elucidated that behind a dark cloud is light.

“He says, ‘Mary, I just want to tell you I will be leaving this Earth this evening, tonight,” Sierra said. “Can you imagine him telling me something like that now can you see why I didn’t want to go.”

He then said she was going to be at his memorial service within a couple of days, Sierra said.

“I get a phone call my daughter said ‘Mom, Jimmy died about four hours after we left,’” Sierra said.

On March 20, 1981 she arrived at work.

“I got out of my station wagon. I was about to close the door and looked up. There was a dark, dark cloud and out of the cloud was a silver lining and rays of light just like he said. It was there I fell on my knees,” Sierra said.

“He was just passing through,” Sierra said evidenced by another experience at work.

The following week she and a co-worker helped a young man who they first mistook for Sierra’s neighbor.

“She looks, ‘Oh there’s Jimmy.’ I thought I was seeing things,” Sierra said. “The young man came straight to where we were — to Angie he said, ‘I’m just passing through, I’m on my way to — I don’t know where — I would like to get some money on my Visa card.”

Sierra saw this as a sign her friend had brought many people to the Lord during the time he was “passing through,” his life on earth.

“Isn’t that something,” Sierra asked looking out a window. 

After the interview is over, Sierra got up from her chair and opened her arms for a hug.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.