Mary Spellens

Dec 27, 1943 -

Jan 15, 2020

Mary Spellens, 76, died at home in Enterprise, Ala., on Jan. 15, 2020, as a result of end-stage kidney disease. From 1979 until 2014, she lived mainly in Anchorage, Alaska. For most of that period, Mary served as a business consultant to the Native communities of Akiachak, Metlakatla and Aniak, among others, helping to provide funding for infrastructure water projects, educational programs, building projects and others. A stalwart person, Mary often traveled by small aircraft to these communities.

Her life was characterized by other excellent achievements. As a Merit Scholar, Mary earned a full tuition scholarship to the University of Chicago and earned a Bachelor of Arts. After graduation, she worked as an editor at the University of Chicago Press, helping to produce The Chicago Manual of Style and conferred with scholars in editing their manuscripts. In Alaska, Mary earned a Masters of Business Administration at the University of Alaska Anchorage and was also a CPA.

Married in 1968, she moved to New York City from Chicago, Ill., with husband Lawrence. There, Mary became vice-president of Springer Publishing, a publisher of academic books for the nursing profession. Later, in New York City, she produced fine art books for Billboard publications. She left NYC for Anchorage in 1979.

She is survived by her husband, Lawrence Spellens of Enterprise; her sister, Nancy Lee Bourne of Willow, Alaska; and brother, John Calvin Bascom, of Lecanto, Fla.