Mary Thielen

Mary Thielen, mother of Rev. Martin Thielen of Cookeville, died Thursday September 10, 2026 in Little Rock Arkansas at the age of 102. She is survived by three children, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Mary graduated from Muskogee Central High School and married her high school sweetheart, Bill, as he joined the Army Air Corps. Her family moved every 2-3 years to new Air Force bases from Maine to California to Hawaii and three stations in the Caribbean.

Mary made each move an exciting new adventure, and stayed active in a variety of ways, including playing the piano, and learning Spanish, snow skiing, sailing, modeling, and even hula dancing!

Upon her husband’s retirement, they moved to Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Arkansas. There she enjoyed swimming, water skiing, furniture refinishing, and her great passion of gardening and landscaping. Mary also worked for the USPS for 15 years as a rural route mail carrier. After her husband’s death, Mary remained in the lake house until moving to a retirement community in Little Rock where she was known as “Mama Mary” to all.

Mary loved her family, her friends, her animals, music and singing, this world's wonderful diverse people, and the gift of God’s divine creation. Her secret to long life? Keep moving in all ways possible. Have zest for living. And nurture your spiritual life.

Mary’s ashes will be joined with her husband in a private family gathering in October, per Mary's wishes. She wanted to be remembered as she was at her 100th birthday, when family and friends from far and wide gathered together to celebrate her centennial birthday.