Mary Beth Woodhouse
October 8, 1948 – June 10, 2024
Mary Beth Woodhouse succumbed to cancer on June 10, 2024, after a four-yearlong battle. Born Mary Gerard Nelson on October 8, 1948, in Marshalltown, Iowa, Mary Elizabeth Shovein was adopted as an infant by James and Catherine Shovein of Mason City, Iowa. She grew up in the Highlands with younger brother, Jim. She attended both public and Catholic schools, graduating from Newman High School in 1967.
In 1969, Mary Beth married David Gunderson. They had one daughter, Jennifer. David was killed in action in 1970 while serving the U.S. Army in the Vietnam War. Mary Beth remarried in 1973 to Mike Woodhouse and they had two daughters, Sarah and Susan. While raising three daughters, Mary Beth worked full-time at A.C. Nielsen Co. and later ran one of the most popular Mason City in-home daycares. She also served as an officer for the Mason City Swim Club for many years. Mary Beth and Mike later divorced.
At age 44, Mary Beth became a full-time student at North Iowa Area Community College where she received academic and leadership accolades and wrote numerous articles for the student newspaper Logos. She then relocated to the Des Moines area to further her education at Drake University. She worked for several years as a marketing specialist, retiring from Buyers Realty in 2019. Upon becoming bored with retirement, she became a Teacher Associate for Urbandale High School, supporting the education of special needs students. She again retired, but continued to babysit for the remainder of her life.
Mary Beth had a number of hobbies including conversation, playing cards and games, watching the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Chiefs, and Caitlyn Clark, and caring for kids, pets, outdoor birds, and neighborhood strays. Above all, she loved being a grandma. One of her all-time favorite things to do was to drive carpool and she did it whenever possible. She loved conversing about the events of the day and listening to the stories and secrets told in the back seat. She especially enjoyed this when her daughters were teenagers, when her local granddaughters were teenagers, and when her adult daughters made the late night “we drank too much” calls for a ride. Mary Beth encouraged and made possible many extra-curricular activities of her daughters, grandchildren, and babysitting kids. She was also into crocheting and sewing and particularly liked to make blankets and bags.
In the last year of her life, Mary Beth traveled to Washington for a family reunion to meet her biological mother and siblings for the first time and returned for a subsequent visit around her 75th birthday. These visits fulfilled a deep desire for Mary Beth to connect and became a lasting source of meaningful memories for all those who were present.
She was a longtime supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and for decades she funded necessities and novelties for impoverished children through various international organizations.
Mary Beth is survived by three daughters, Jennifer Gunderson, Spokane, Wash., Sarah Hambrick, West Des Moines, Ia., and Susan Yaws, San Marcos, Tex., grandchildren Ashley and Jessica Hambrick and Rowan and Merek Yaws, special son-in-law Joe Hambrick, dear brother and sister-in-law Jim and Nita Shovein, siblings Sue, Sally, Pete, Mark, and Barb Frederick. She is preceded in death by parents James and Katie Shovein, husband David Gunderson, and mother Arliss Nelson Frederick.
“Good night, love you, see you in the morning.”
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 22, from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM at the Windsor Square by Broadmoor in Windsor Heights, Iowa.
