Biographical Note
Mary Louise Mason was born on December 12, 1926, in Athens, Michigan, to Earl and Beatrice Mason. She graduated from high school in 1944 and then attended Community Hospital School of Nursing in Battle Creek, Michigan, as a cadet nurse during World War II, graduating in 1947. Her training as a cadet nurse allowed her to join The United States Army Nurse Corps in 1951 as a First Lieutenant during the Korean War. She completed her basic training in San Antonio, Texas, and proceeded to her first assignment at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C., where she served on the spinal cord injury ward for two years. Mason recalls at her first evaluation at Walter Reed Hospital, being told that she was, “quite outspoken” and she quite liked that.
After serving in Washington D.C., Mason was deployed for 16 months to Osaka, and Fukuoka, Japan. In December 1954, she left the Army and began integrating back into civilian life. Mason continued her education, earning a Bachelor’s in Nursing from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She went on to teach nursing at Methodist Hospital for 28 years, retiring in 1986.
In 2006, Mason was named the Honorary Citizen for Athens, Michigan Summer Homecoming. On August 1, 2014, she passed away at the age of 87.