June 25, 1938 – August 25, 2025
Mary was born June 25, 1938, in Princeton, New Jersey, to the late Rev. John C. Crocker Sr. and Mary Hallowell Crocker. She was the youngest of six children.
At the age of 2, Mary’s family moved to Groton, Massachusetts, when her father became the headmaster of Groton School. She spent her childhood summers at the family home on the island of North Haven, Maine. She, her siblings and cousins were given tremendous freedom to use the skiffs to explore various features of the Point — including its mudflats. Her gusto for adventure, regardless of how dirty the task, earned her the fond title of “Dirty Gert.” How she played as a child is indicative of how she approached life. Mary attended Concord Academy and graduated high school from Milton Academy. She attended Smith College in Northampton.
At 16, Mary and a friend travelled to Ralston Creek Ranch near Golden, Colorado. She met and fell in love with Bart Strang. It’s a wonder that the decision to go to Ralston Creek one July ended up changing her life forever, as she decided to leave life in New England and jump into being a rancher’s wife. Mary and Bart were united in marriage on Sept. 13, 1958, in Groton. Four girls — Mary, Ellen, Lisa and Sarah — were born to them.
Mary and Bart spent their first years of marriage on the family ranch at Ralston Creek. In 1960, they moved to Carbondale. They purchased their first Hereford cattle in 1962 while they were ranching in Carbondale with Bart’s brother, Mike, and friend, Tom Turnbull. In 1968, they moved to their own place on West Sopris Creek in Basalt. In addition to their registered and commercial cattle business, they operated a summer program for teenagers, serving as surrogate parents to 40 teens for eight weeks. Each summer, the Strang family of six grew to 60. Mary prepared three meals a day for her large summer family. It was routine for her to bake 20 loaves of bread, make 10 pies and prepare large amounts of meat, salad and vegetables. Alongside managing the summer business and raising four daughters, Mary helped Bart develop their herd of cattle. She took weekend ski trips to Buttermilk, assisted with 4-H projects, attended bull sales and junior rodeos and served as a trustee for Rocky Mountain School. The friendships she formed during this time lasted until her death..
The family moved to Meeker in 1973 and focused solely on raising cattle. Mary quickly became involved in many facets, including the Episcopal Church, the school, 4-H and the community choir — to name a few. An advocate for youth and education, Mary volunteered her time in classrooms and boardrooms, never passing up the opportunity to help someone.
The cattle operation became the center of Mary’s life. She found joy in the simple tasks of dragging fields in the spring and cleaning stalls during calving season. She learned to manage a website, edit videos and market bulls with the best. Annual bull sales and showing yearling bulls at the National Western Stock Show were her working vacations.
She was a staunch supporter of education and enrichment for all students, believing that the arts were an integral part of every child’s education. She spent many years on the Meeker School Board and was the driving force behind the creation of the Meeker Education Foundation (MEF). The MEF now provides crucial funding for the Meeker School District.
This New England schoolgirl did not hesitate to embrace the life of a rancher’s wife, even though, in retrospect, she was asking herself to make a huge adjustment in the way she lived. As a dear friend wrote, “And with each challenge that came along she rose up, as if it was no big deal, and turned herself into a hero in my eyes — not just a cherished friend. One of a kind she was.”
Mary was the epitome of the DIY person. She taught herself to refinish furniture, do the finish work on her house, landscaping and woodworking; and she was not afraid of technology. There was nothing she couldn’t do.
Mary is survived by daughters Mary (Greg) Cunningham, Lisa (Tom) Walsh, Sarah (Clint) Hjelm, son-in-law Joe (Ellen) Nieslanik, 11 grandchildren — Ben (Rachel) Cunningham, Charlie (Cami) Cunningham, Hannah (Ben) Cunningham Hollinger, Meg (John Colavita) Nieslanik, Jake (Paige) Nieslanik, Sam (Katie) Nieslanik, Nate (Kalyn) Walsh, Anna Walsh, Stephen Walsh, Wyatt Hjelm and Hannah Hjelm — seven, soon to be eight, great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law, Kit Strang, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Bart Strang, her daughter, Ellen Nieslanik, her parents and her five siblings.
Services for Mary will be held at 11am on Sept. 12 at St. James Episcopal Church in Meeker, Colorado, followed by a reception at the Meeker 4-H building. Instead of flowers, please consider making memorial donations to St. James Episcopal Church, in care of Grant Mortuary, 621 Yampa Avenue, Craig, Colorado 81625.