Mary Engle
July 11, 1968 – September 17, 2023
Mary Elizabeth Engle, 55, of Ocala, Fla., passed away September 17, 2023 at Hospice of Marion County in Ocala, Fla.
Mary was born in Homestead, Fla. to Doris Wysong and Herb Wysong on July 11, 1968. She went to Hernando High School in Brooksville, Fla. and graduated in 1986. She attended Pasco/Hernando Community College where she completed some classes towards her AA degree.
She worked as confidential secretary for the Public Education Foundation of Marion County for the past nine years. She enjoyed traveling, gardening, love of old architecture, old movies, family time and the beach. She was awarded Marion County Public Schools Employee of the Year for the 2020-2021 school year and was involved with charity work with the foundation.
Mary is survived by her husband Doug Engle of Ocala, her son Mason Engle, her brother Michael Wysong and numerous cousins. Her sister Nancy predeceased her along with her mother Doris and father Herb.
A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Presbyterian Church Ocala, located at 511 SE 3rd Street in Ocala, Fla., on September 30, 2023 at 10 a.m. with Reverend Dr. Walk Jones of the same church. Food and fellowship will follow in the fellowship hall at the church.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Public Education Foundation of Marion County in Mary’s name.
Mary was anything but conventional. Her quick wittedness was impressive and you would see Mary tooling around town in her little black convertible with her blonde hair flying in the wind. She was either on her way to work, to the grocery store, running errands or heading to her next hair appointment.
With her love of history and older homes, she and and her husband Doug renovated three older homes, two of which were in the historic district here in Ocala.
Her professional career began in Ocala with a local attorney where she worked as a legal assistant for eight years.
After the eight years, she became pregnant with Mason and we decided as a family that she would stay home and help raise Mason until his was of age to go to school before returning to the work force. We struggled and scrimped like any young family, but family and Mason was the number one goal.
When Mason was a baby, Mary would sing the lullaby “Way Up in the Sky” when putting Mason to bed or waking him up for school.
Mason was enrolled in Happy Hearts during his early years and Mary later became a teacher at Happy Hearts after Mason started Kindergarten.
After her time at Happy Hearts, Mary decided to become a substitute teacher for the Marion County Public Schools. From there she became the front desk Secretary at Madison before moving on to the Public Education Foundation of Marion County where she worked for the last nine years as a Confidential Secretary with ” the girls” as she called them.
She loved working with the girls on fundraisers like the annual bowling tournament and of course Golden Apple. She always looked forward dressing up for that event and cocktails afterwards.
Oh, how she loves Mason.
She was so proud of him and would boast about him when ever she could. In first grade he was placed in the Millennium program at Dr. N.H. Jones. He went on to Howard Middle and was accepted into the IB program at Vanguard High School, where he graduated as one of the 36 Valedictorians in 2020 during Covid.
Mary was proud when Mason was accepted to Vanderbilt University where he received an almost full ride to the elite college. He’s in his senior year now with a double major in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Medicine Health and Society and two minors in Chemistry and History. We always joked that I had to go to my phone notes when people asked what he was majoring in.
She was loved by all and will be missed by many and Mason and I will miss her the most.