Mary K. Mungons

Mary Mungons, a devoted wife and mother who worked as a nurse and church volunteer, died August 20 at her home in Toledo, Ohio. She was 87.

She was born in Wauseon, Ohio, on December 30, 1936, to Florence and John P. Winzeler. A few days before her first birthday, her father died of strep throat. As the Great Depression continued, her mother married a recent widower, Lewis “Al” Wagner. Together they raised their blended family on a farm near Fayette.

“My greatest sorrow was never having known my father,” Mary once said, but also described her stepfather as kind and loving—“a wonderful father to me.”

She attended Zone School in Franklin Township, then graduated from  Archbold High School in 1954. The biggest event of her childhood each year was the Fulton County Fair, marked by a new dress sewn by her mother and entries in the Junior Fair—especially the home economics categories. She continued to win blue ribbons until her last fair entries in 2024.

“My mother taught me to cook, bake and sew, and the proper way to set a table,” she said. “More importantly, she taught me how to be concerned for others.” Much of Mary’s life was devoted to hospitality and compassion.

She enrolled in the three-year program at the Toledo Hospital School of Nursing, where a classmate invited her to the Toledo Gospel Tabernacle. She began attending and was led to the Lord by a Sunday School teacher.

Mary graduated from nursing school in 1957 and began working at Toledo Hospital. A year later she began working for Drs. Morris Selman and Wallace A. McAlpine, Toledo’s first open-heart surgeons. She continued working for the office as Drs. Hugh Foster and Efrain Montesinos joined the practice.

While making her annual visit to the Fulton County Fair, she met Ralph Mungons, a television technician who later became a firefighter and one of Toledo’s first paramedics.

She joined Emmanuel Baptist Church in 1958, where Ralph was a member, and they married on December 12, 1959.

In 1971 Mary and several friends began Shepherds, a Bible class at Emmanuel for people with developmental disabilities. At the time, Toledo churches offered few opportunities for families with special-needs children. When she retired from nursing she took a new position at Emmanuel, giving medical care to a growing group of elderly church members. She also led Ladies Alone, a ministry to widows.

Mary and Ralph traveled with church mission teams to Brazil (1990) and Quebec (2000). They were known for their hospitality to visiting missionaries, pastors, and church friends.

Her later years were marked by devotion to a growing family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When asked about her best wish for her grandchildren, she answered “Knowing and walking with the Lord.”

Her volunteer activities slowed somewhat after her diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease, but Mary and Ralph continued to volunteer at Flower Hospital and hosted a weekly Bible study until her health declined in 2023.

Her life was characterized by one of her favorite scripture verses: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).

She is survived by her husband of 64 years, Ralph; daughter Renee; sons Kevin (Carla) and Kerry (Sara); grandchildren Andrew (Melinda), Ness, Seth (Emily), Molly, John, Chelsea (Luke) Machiela, Heather, Nat, Luke, Zach, Dan, Rachel, and Ben; and great-grandchildren Philip, Ruth, and Marigold; and her brother, John R. Winzeler. 

A private committal service for the family will be held at Smith Cemetery near Wauseon, Ohio.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday, August 25 at 3:00 p.m. at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 4207 W. Laskey Road, Toledo, Ohio 43623.

The family suggests memorial gifts to the ministry of Stephen and Rowena Barnes or to a favorite missionary.