Mary Francis Chesnovar Rutledge

Mary Francis Chesnovar Rutledge

September 15, 1922 - November 2, 2022

Daughter, Sister, Aunt, Wife, Mother, Grandma, Great-Grandma

Mary was born and raised in Superior, Wyoming by her parents Anton and Frances Chesnjovar.  Her parents were immigrants from Yugoslavia during WWI.  She completed her education through high school in Superior and was a cheerleader and had many friends.  She spoke of a lot of fond memories growing up in Superior.

After high school, she worked as a secretary for a commander of a Prisoner of War Camp in Fort Douglas, Wyoming.  She later moved to Utah with her parents and met her husband, Sherman Rutledge at a dance. They got married August 29, 1947.  They danced together all throughout their marriage.  They especially loved to dance at the Hof festival.

In Kaysville, Mary and Sherm added to their family and had a son, Tom Rutledge, and a daughter, Trudi Rutledge.  During this time, Mary was a skilled home maker who did a great job of maintaining the house, caring for her kids, sewing, and cooking and baking delicious food for family and friends.  She loved trying new recipes and loved entertaining family and friends for special occasions. She passed on her love of baking to her daughter, Trudi and her granddaughter, Mandy.  Almost every Christmas season, all three of them would bake a traditional Yugoslavian bread together and her granddaughter enjoys carrying on that tradition as much as she can.

Mary also loved learning new things.  She was a self-taught artist and painted many beautiful paintings with many different mediums and also had a kiln to make ceramics and porcelain dolls.  She has made numerous art pieces for her house as well as for other people.  She also enjoyed gardening and loved learning about flowers and birds.  She found the beauty in nature and tried to capture that in a lot of her art.

All throughout her life, Mary was a devout Catholic who loved God, family, and friends.  She also loved helping others and giving people she cared about handmade gifts.  She celebrated her 100^th birthday surrounded by family and friends at Lotus Park Memory Care.  The staff put together a phenomenal Luau for her.  The Hawaiian entertainment took her back to wonderful memories of traveling to Hawaii with her husband. 

The family would like to give a special thanks to the dedicated nurses, doctors, and other staff from North Davis Hospice Care and Lotus Park who gave her kind, loving care.  The family also extends thanks to her family and friends who supported her throughout her life. Especially in the later years.

Mary is preceded in death by her parents, Anton and Frances Chesnjovar; her husband Sherman Rutledge; her son, Tom Rutledge; her daughter, Trudi Rutledge, her brothers, Charlie and Rudy, and her sister Mildred.

She is survived by her son-in-law, Bert Holbrook; her granddaughter, Mandy Sanchez; and her great grandchildren, Mathias Sanchez and Isabel Sanchez.

Graveside services will be held Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. at the Kaysville City Cemetery, 500 E. Crestwood Rd., Kaysville, Utah.  At Mary’s request there will be no viewing held.

Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.