Mary Jane Nelsen was born in Scobey, Montana, on Oct. 19, 1932, to Uffe and Dot (Hughes) Nelsen.

She died on Aug. 31, 2015, in the care of Home Options Hospice, Kalispell.

Mary Jane began living with her aunt and uncle, Estella and Edwin Colby, in Fort Benton in 1935 when her mother was ill with cancer. She continued to live with the Colbys after her mother’s death in 1936. Mary Jane attended grade school in Fort Benton. In 1944, she moved with the Colbys to Conrad where she graduated from high school in 1950. She attended college in Missoula at Montana State University – now renamed the University of Montana. Mary Jane, who preferred to be called Jary, was a member of Spurs and the Sigma Kappa sorority. She graduated from MSU in 1954, and started teaching high school math and physical education in Warden. She also taught in Whitefish.

In 1961, Mary Jane “Jary” began working for the Girl Scouts of America as an executive director. Her career with the Girl Scouts took her to Olympia, Washington, Albany, New York, Alexandria, Virginia, and New York. A highlight in her life was attending a luncheon where she dined with first lady Nancy Reagan in Washington, D.C. She was hired by the Campfire Girls and worked as an administrator in their offices in Kansas City, Kansas, and Denver.

In 1985 she retired, and moved to Lakeside. She was active in a women’s investment club known as WAFERS and was considered a very successful investor. She also joined the Lakeside Women’s Community Club, and helped to organize their first summer fair fundraiser.

In 2006, due to poor health, Mary Jane “Jary” moved to the Lake View Care Center in Bigfork.

A private family graveside service was held Sept. 14, in Scobey where her ashes were interred in the Nelsen family plot.

Mary Jane “Jary” was preceded in death by her parents, Dot and Uffe Nelsen; stepmother, Getta Nelsen; and sisters, Phyllis Metcalf Discher, Helen Nelsen Briese, Joyce Nelsen Gorder, LaVerna Nelsen Moothart and Doris Jeanne Nelsen. She was also preceded in death by her extended family, Ed and Estella Colby, Jean Colby Spicher, and Irene Colby Bennett.

She is survived by her brother, Robert John Nelsen, of Billings; her sister, Lois Nelsen Hedstrom, of Wilton, North Dakota; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.