Mary Corak Reynolds

Beloved mother, sister, aunt and family matriarch Mary Louise Reynolds, 95, passed away peacefully on August 13 in Napa, California.

She was born in Hardin, Montana on October 15, 1920 to James and Lucile Denton. Mary had nine siblings and grew up on the family farm attending schools in Roberts, Montana where she graduated from high school in 1938.

Mary married Paul Corak on April 15, 1942 in Boise, Idaho. While he served in World War II, Mary worked at the Safeway store and as a nanny in Moscow, Idaho.

Together, Mary and Paul raised four children born in Idaho and Oregon before moving the family to Lakeport, California in 1960 and to Napa in 1962. They became active members of the First Baptist Church (now Crosswalk Community Church) of Napa where Mary remained a member until her passing.

Paul was an agricultural engineer and in 1968 he, Mary, and the two youngest children, Richard and Sharon moved to Tunis, Tunisia where Paul worked for US AID, a program of the US State Department. When Richard and Sharon went to college in the US, Mary and Paul then moved to Pakistan, where Paul died in 1977.

Mary returned to Napa in 1978 where she lived for nine years and worked as the hostess at Grape Vine Inn in Yountville. Mary then married Clifford Reynolds, a childhood schoolmate from Montana. They resided in Reno, Nevada until Clifford’s passing in 1993 at which time Mary returned to Napa permanently.

Mary stayed active joining Community Projects and the Red Hat Ladies and serving as the fellowship chairperson at First Baptist Church where she headed up a cooking team that served a weekly church dinner and coordinated food service for church funerals. She also chaired the team and cooked the meals for Relay for Life serving lunch to hundreds of participants for seventeen consecutive years, finally retiring when she turned 90 years old in 2010.

An avid San Francisco Giants and 49ers fan, Mary enjoyed going frequently to baseball and football games at Candlestick Park and later at AT&T Park. She was present at many historic and memorable games including attendance at Candlestick Park during the World Series earthquake in 1989. She was named a Napa Valley Register “Giants fan of the day” during the World Series in 2010.

Mary loved traveling and hosted annual family reunions that eventually settled in Sun River, Oregon for many years. Her gift of hospitality was well known as she loved to cook for and entertain her family and friends. Mary’s home was always a welcoming and comfortable place where friends and family could gather and celebrate her love of people and life.

Mary’s 90th birthday party in October, 2010 included friends and family members from all over the world who came to celebrate the family matriarch’s longevity and happy life. In typical Mary fashion, she exhorted the gathering to root the Giants on to a World Series victory—they did!

She leaves her four children and two step-children: JoAnne (Jean-Paul) Montaldo of Napa, Marilyn (Jim) Blue of Riverside, Washington, Richard (Robin) Corak of Edgewood, Washington, Sharon (Travis) Rogers of Napa, Clay (Nancy) Reynolds of Redlands, and Diane (Jeff) Hull of Reno. Mary is also survived by her sister, Helen Denton and eleven grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren.

A memorial service to remember and celebrate Mary’s life will be held Friday, August 19 at 2:00P.M. with Dr. Pete Shaw officiating followed by a reception at Crosswalk Community Church, 2590 First Street, Napa. Mary will be laid to rest in Tulocay Cemetery next to her husband, Paul.

Memorial donations may be made to World Vision or Relay for Life.

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