Mary T. Sayre

Mary T. Sayre

West Chester

Mary T. Sayre, age 82, of West Chester, Iowa, died Sunday, January 22, 2023, at the VA Hospital in Iowa City, Iowa following a sudden illness.

Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 28, 2023, at St. James Catholic Church with Father Bernie Weir officiating. Calling hours will begin 2:00 p.m. Friday at the Jones & Eden Funeral Home. A prayer service will be held at 4:30 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and family will receive friends from 5 – 7 p.m. Interment with military honors will take place at the West Chester Cemetery. A memorial has been established for the West Chester Heritage Association. Online condolences may be sent for Mary’s family through the web at www.jonesfh.com.

Mary was born May 27, 1940, in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Ignatius and Mary (Roboski) Kopistecki. She graduated from Phoenixville High school in Pennsylvania. The day after graduation she took her oath of enlistment with a small group of other young women in front of Betsy Ross's home in Philadelphia and boarded a plane for military basic training. That flight of female military recruits became known as the "Betsy Ross Flight". Mary was united in marriage to Nathan A. Sayre on October 3, 1959, at the Charleston Air Force Base in Charleston, South Carolina. They later divorced.

Mary spent 28 years honorably serving in the United States Air Force and the Army Reserve 872nd Maintenance Company. She was also a civilian employee at the Army Reserve Center working as the Unit Administrator for many years. She moved to Washington, Iowa, in 1970. She was a member of St. James Catholic Church where she sang in the church choir. Mary was a member of the Washington Choral Society and enjoyed gardening, camping, attending the Iowa State Fair, dancing and listening to Polka music. Following her retirement she enjoyed traveling to visit family in Pennsylvania and spending as much time as she could with her family.

She is survived by her daughter, Luetta (Joel) Greene of Crawfordsville, Iowa; daughter, Debbie (Terrell) Hunter of Riverside, Iowa; son, Nathan A. Sayre; daughter, Theresa Sayre of Washington, Iowa; 10 grandchildren, Jennifer, Jessica, Janelle, Hillary, Ericka, Jennie Rae, Britney, Brianna, Austin and Katlyn; and 14 great-grandchildren, Justice, Stratton, Lexi, Cora, Sophie, Clayton, Logan, Alisa, Lane, Leyton, Rees, Anola, Liam and Sophia. Mary is also survived by her sister, Irene (Michael) Pavlik of Pottstown, Pennsylvania; brother, John Kopistecki of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; and half-sister, Anna Kotchmar of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Mary was preceded in death by her father, Ignatius Kopistecki; mother, Mary Kotchmar; stepfather, Mike Kotchmar; daughter, Barbara Hole; son-in-law, Brian Hole; brothers, Stanley, Louis, and Joseph Kopistecki; and sisters, Theresa and Dorothy Kopistecki.

She will surely be missed for her kind smile and her positive caring attitude.