Traverse City - Mary Veronica Arnold, former longtime resident of Plainfield, IN, died at home July 22, 2018, in Traverse City, Michigan.

Mary Veronica Arnold, 96-years strong, embraced the last breaths of her wonderful life engulfed by the love of son Stephen, daughter Paula, and youngest daughter Anne, and other family members. Sadness is not the message she would want conveyed but joy—joy because of family, about which she could recount innumerable details and reveal incredible interest in the activities of each and every relative, no matter how distant the relation; joy because of friends, with whom she developed many in-depth relationships over decades; and joy because of her enduring faith. As age slowed her physical movements, it took neither her mind nor her spirit. Mary relished engagement with her siblings, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She ate up news of family and friends not unlike her life-long love affair with ice cream. She continued to read, visit wineries and local attractions, enjoy restaurants and new types of food, send e-mails, FaceTime across time zones, and attend Mass all with an inquisitive and curious mind. She remained engaged and engaging.

From her birth and upbringing in rural Iowa, through college, to working in Washington D.C. for her Senator during WWII; from the Great Depression to space travel; from horse and buggy to having a computer in your pocket; and from distant wars to electronic communication across the country and into her bedroom, Mary loved life and living it with others. There was hardship and loss, and there was incredible happiness—from her marriage to Arch and their homes from New Orleans to Colorado to Utah, they eventually made their permanent home in Plainfield, Indiana, where the truest joy of her life, her children, were raised. Mary and Arch were long time members of St. Susanna Parish. Arch headed the fund-raising committee for the new church building as the parish grew, and she taught Sunday school. After retiring from full-time work in Indianapolis, Mary became the secretary of the parish school for several years. St. Susanna was a vital part of her life for over 50 years.

It is impossible to distill decades of elan vital in mere words. Know this—Mary V was an extraordinary woman. She lost Arch all too early in life, but nevertheless raised three children while working tirelessly, and helped put them through college. In turn, she observed with pride as Stephen, Paula, and Anne found their own paths and produced wonderful families with whom she had decades of magical memories. Her Irish eyes indeed smiled tremendously on a daily basis. She was beautiful, and the embodiment of grace.

She loved many, and many loved her. Her joy becomes our joy. "Pass it on," would be her message, and it will live on through those who survive her: son Stephen and daughter in-law Mary Ann, daughter Paula and son in-law Tom, and daughter Anne and son in-law Brad, and their families. She was the oldest of 9 children, and is survived by three siblings, Kate, Frank and Bob.

Visitation and a memorial Mass will be held at St. Susanna Church, Plainfield, on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, with visitation at 1:30, and Mass at 3:00 p.m. There will be a bereavement dinner after Mass in the Parish hall. Burial will be at Maple Hill Cemetery, Plainfield, on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, at 8:30 a.m.

Memorial donations can be made to the Mount Mercy University Orrin L. Arnold Endowed Scholarship Fund, Sheltering Wings of Danville, IN, or the St. Vincent DePaul Society.