Mary Beaudin Vant Hull

Obituary, Volunteer Appreciation, and Community History

Mary Beaudin Vant Hull: April 4th, 1928- January 1st, 2017



Mary Beaudin Vant Hull was born April 4, 1928 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin to John W. and Julia Beaudin Vant Hull. She died on January 1st, 2017.



The Great Depression integrally shaped Mary’s youth. By the age of ten, her family had relocated nine times, often to find cheap or free shelter with outdoor toilets and kerosene lamps. She attended four different schools within the same school year. A vivid pre-school memory of Mary’s was her mother running across the farmyard calling, “Come on John! We’ve got to go vote for Roosevelt or we’ll starve to death.” All throughout Mary’s adult life, she championed the underdog.



Working from an early age to earn money for life essentials, after Mary’s graduation from Waupun High School, she diligently worked three jobs for a year to save for her attendance at the University of Wisconsin. While a full-time student, she worked 30 hours a week as linotypist, graduating with highest honors.



In 1951, she married A.M. El-Negoumy in Madison, then moved to Alexandria, Egypt where she was witness to the overthrow of King Farouk in the 1952 Colonels’ Revolution; the burning of Western businesses in Cairo after the British fired on Egyptian soldiers; Nasser’s nationalizing of the Suez Canal; the British-French-Israeli attack in 1956; being evacuated by American Navy ships with her three year-old and 6 month-old daughters and their singular small suitcase; joining thousands of evacuees from all over the Mediterranean on the General Patch (a huge troop ship); and finally being dropped off in Naples to fend for themselves.



During Mary and her family’s seven years in Egypt, she initially worked as the Alexandrian Coordinator for the U.S. Educational Foundation in Egypt, then as part of an Oil Consortium for the Sahara Petroleum Company exploring the Western Desert, and lastly for the Alexandria office of the World Health Organization. The family permanently left Egypt in 1958 and moved to Ames, Iowa. In 1962, she again relocated to Bozeman, MT where she discovered her true home.



She taught at Bozeman Junior High School; obtained an M.S. at Montana State University; conducted reading development labs in the Counseling Department; and for many years taught children’s literature and freshmen writing classes in MSU’s English Department.



Although uncomfortable away from academia and her books, Mary volunteered for MSU President Roland Renne’s Democratic campaign for governor in 1964. That led to her being drafted to run for County Superintendent of Schools in 1966, a campaign which in her naiveté, shyness, and odd name of Mary El-Negoumy led to her resounding defeat.



This dedicated bookworm was appalled at the general indifference about replacing the 5,000 square-foot Carnegie Library and its moribund budget. She was then introduced to Kit Miller, a mentor with more nerve than even Mary possessed. They started writing on their water bills and payments, “We need a new library!” With others joining in the movement, retiring City Manager Harold Fryslie and his friend Chamber of Commerce President Guy Sperry took notice of these freakish notes and called a public meeting in 1974.



That evening, Mary and Kit were heartened to find more bookworms: Polly and Rollie Renne, Herb and Eleanor Kirk, Asgar and Ebba Mikkelsen, Ed Howard, Elaine Howald, George Mattson, Edna Berg, as well as many others. Friends of the Gallatin Libraries formed, nominating John P. Parker as the organization’s first president. Their goal was to build a new library, and for the first time ever, to procure some county funding to help run all the public libraries in the county. Cal and Jan Dunbar of West Yellowstone became two of the organization’s most faithful volunteers as they had no public library at all.



Huge obstacles immediately erupted. With Frylie and Sperry’s retirements, the newly hired City Manager Sam Gesko called library lovers a tiny minority. City Commissioners Duncan MacNab, Keith Swanson, and Jimmy Vollmer agreed, refusing to put the library before the voters. They were quoted, “You want a library? Go to the University.” So the Friends of Gallatin Libraries went door-to-door to get signatures, forcing a bond vote. With a 72% Yes vote, the Commission still obstructed the public’s will, not hiring an architect or calling contractors’ bids for a year, while inflation melted the $1.46 million bond. Forced to address only basic needs (now re-purposed as City Hall) architect Mattson and Martel Construction succeeded, the library’s doors opening in 1981. A festive community book-moving day ensued, gathering hundreds of volunteers who still recall that day.



Having spent countless hours over many years in City and County Commission meetings, Friends of Gallatin Libraries turned into tigers. When county officials refused even a penny for operating libraries, Friends got the Library Board to charge a rural-resident fee to take out books. All hell broke loose until the county relented. Thank you, County.



Meanwhile, still observing City Commission meetings, she was pained to see free parkland refused. Commissions said “We’re not in the real estate business” and “We can’t accept because we can’t afford to develop it.”



With the assistance of many vigorous volunteers to overcome opposition, Mary found support to run and win a City Commission seat, serving two terms from Jan. 1982 to Jan. 1990. She and two other challengers, Ken Weaver and Anne Fowler Anderson, ousted three incumbents. Joining Al Stiff and Judy Mathre made an historic first – the only time women were a majority of the Commission.



During her eight years, among the Commission’s accomplishments were the first-ever stream set-back; replacing salt with gravel for more car-friendly city streets; the first low and moderate income housing committee; starting work on a new sign ordinance for more attractive city entryways; purchasing Milwaukee railroad right-of-way for the Galligator Trail; serving as a liaison on the steering committee for our first Historic Preservation Board, building interest to obtain the land that became Burke Park; removing the WWII Legion Housing for what is now Centennial Park; beginning Commission meetings with a moment of silence instead of spoken prayer (followed by opposition, picketing, and protests); creating a neighborhood-friendly Planning Board; approving ways to keep downtown healthy (particularly Laurie Shadoan’s Taste of Bozeman and Christmas Stroll); supporting Chris Boyd’s new GVLT; facilitating Haven’s first shelter (originally called the Bozeman Battered Women’s Network); and more.



After leaving the City Commission, she found volunteers to push recently-acquired Burke Park, mainly by Chris Boyd (founder of GVLT), to designate Burke as the first leash-free park in Bozeman. She then joined the City’s Parks and Trails Advisory Board. Seeing no progress towards obtaining land for a large regional park, as recommended years earlier by POST (Parks, Open Space, and Trails Committee), Mary, Sue Harkin, and other Rec Board stalwarts called a public meeting, forming Friends of Regional Parks (FORParks) with Paul Weingart as the first president. Collaborating with many other skillful proponents to pass the first county-wide $10 million open space bond of 2000, its success allowed $1.23 million to purchase land for the regional park in northwest Bozeman, with easy access for the entire county. FORParks worked many years to build the Dinosaur Playground, and with the help of GVLT, many other features such as trails, bridges, etc. Now, Run Dog Run is building the “Best Dog Park in the State of Montana” in the southwest area of the Park.



The first time Mary put on x-c skis at the age of 49, she immediately became an addict in the back country. Always an avid bicyclist, she bicycled to and from Yellowstone Park, both through Gallatin Canyon (shepherding along six 13 year-olds, including her daughter, all on 3-speed bikes), and down the Paradise Valley, as well as bicycling in England twice, and tough ride to Virginia City on a sleety, windy June day. Wilderness walks with the MWA were a delight. She remained a compulsive, lifelong reader. She always said volunteering did more for her than it did for the community because it helped to facilitate her to overcome her shyness, leading her to enjoy people as much as her books.



After her divorce in 1977 from El-Negoumy, she married Mike Ward, a retired Air Force Colonel, who became legendarily active in the Bozeman community. His exploits included constant letter to the editor fighting the NRA, his chairmanship of the Gallatin County Democratic Central Committee, and his election and service on the 1984 Gallatin County Study Commission. They divorced in 1993.



Along the way, when Mary’s daughters were young, she participated in the usual with Girl Scouts, Sunday school, etc. Having caught the political bug early, she joined many organizations, managed campaigns (most notably Ruthmary Tonn’s successful Democratic run for county commission; worked in others every time (including ballot issues such as the passage of the 1972 Constitution and against heap-leach gold mining), as well as lots of free advice!



She said her biggest failure was when the Safe Trails Coalition did not get the safe trail between Bozeman and Belgrade, then to Manhattan and Three Forks. Her hope remains that fresh volunteers, like Marilee Brown’s “Safer Bozeman and Gallatin County” (aided by committed experts like Ralph Zimmer) can bring it to fruition with the help of our county commissioners.



She said her biggest accomplishment is her two lovely daughters, Noelle (Richard) Hagan and Melinda (Les) Tyler, both lovely, talented and responsive to civic duties and community needs. She is also proud of removing them from Egypt, safeguarding them as American citizens and volunteers for progressive causes. She leaves behind three fine grandchildren: Nicholas Hagan of Bozeman and Livingston; Celia Hagan of Washington D.C; and Ian Hagan of Denver, CO; as well as her brother Daniel Vant Hull of Tucson, AZ; niece Kathy Jensen (Jim Biggs) of Pickerington, OH; and beloved Dutch cousins in Waupun, WI.



An Appreciation of All Volunteers & Celebration of Mary’s Life will be held 2:00 p.m. Feb. 11, 2017 in the Ballroom at the Emerson Cultural Center. Catered refreshments will be provided as a Thank You to Bozeman’s volunteers. Baskets will be available for the convenience of attendees who wish to appreciate local non-profits such as Gallatin Valley Land Trust (GVLT), Run Dog Run, Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), BridgerCare, Haven, Bozeman Public Library, Heart of the Valley Shelter, and/or Support Regional Park, Gallatin County. Memorials may be made in Mary’s honor at any time to the aforementioned non-profits.