Mary Elzy

Austin resident Mary Alice Elzy passed away on March 13, 2025. Mary was born in 1949 in Nelson, Nebraska to Eleanor Yilk Pohlmeier and Ralph Pohlmeier. Mary grew up in Lawrence, Nebraska, the youngest of her beloved siblings Janet, Gretchen, Vernon, and Dale. Mary attended Sacred Heart grade school and then Lawrence High School, where she was Valedictorian, Sweetheart Party Queen, Junior Class President, earned numerous 4-H awards, attended Girls State, and lettered in volleyball. Mary left Nebraska to attend Marymount College in Salina, Kansas where she was also involved in many activities.

After college Mary moved to Austin, Texas where several of her siblings relocated and, later, retired. When Mary joined the Austin Civic Chorus, she met her husband Martin. They were married a year later in 1976 and their son Joshua was born in 1978 while Mary worked on completing her MBA from the University of Texas, graduating in 1980. Mary's family relocated to Atlanta in 1981 where Mary worked for Sprint, participated in the Georgia Executive Women's Network, and served as Beach Volleyball venue manager during the 1996 Olympic Summer Games.

Retiring in Austin, Mary and Martin joined UT's LAMP (Learning Activities for Mature People) program, where Mary served in several roles including LAMP President, and made friends who were a great source of support. Mary volunteered and donated to several charities championing women's rights, civil rights, public health, and poverty abatement. As a universal blood type, Mary donated frequently and took pride in her ability to help a wide range of people.

Together Mary and Martin traveled extensively, volunteered as ushers at several Austin performance venues, and hosted numerous parties for friends, relatives, and former colleagues. Through her last year, Mary enjoyed playing mahjong, dominoes, cards, and board games with friends, and ran annual road races with family, including several Peachtree Road Races in Atlanta and around twenty Cap10K races in Austin, culminating in her finishing third in her age group in April 2024. Mary was fortunate to be in excellent health until the last six months of her life and in good spirits until her death at 75 after spending her last few months in assisted living at Maravilla in North Austin.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband Martin in 2019. Mary is survived by her son Joshua, and Josh's wife Laura, Mary's siblings Janet, Dale, and Vernon, along with many loving nieces, nephews, and cousins. Mary enjoyed flowers, particularly bluebonnets, live performances, dancing, chocolate, popcorn, and time with loved ones. We are all grateful for the love and support Mary received in life and request that any donation in her memory be made to the League of Women Voters at lwvaustin.org.