Mary Elizabeth Marler, (née Lynch) M.D., aged 77, passed away peacefully in her home in Lockport that she shared with her loving, dear friend, Joe Bockhold.

Born and raised in Lockport, the M.D. of Merriment was a joy to be around—quick to share a book or a quip at a moment's notice. Mary Elizabeth was always plugged in to any conversation she joined, providing an immensely sincere and genuine warmth of excitement to be in one's company. She had a sharp wit and was deeply knowledgeable, filling in gaps of family lore and telling stories of her own singular life.

She grew up a short walk to St. Dennis grade school where she stunned and amazed the Franciscan nun teachers with her intellect and mischievousness. Her studies continued at Mundelein College and at Loyola Medical School. Her wild spirit and unbridled curiosity took her traveling, finding herself in Wyoming for time after she ran out of gas and found she quite liked the locale and came to love the annual elk migration. Wild Mary was the stuff of legends: training as a doctor in a male-dominated field, alligator hunting in South Carolina and coyote hunting in Wyoming, and riding her horse Sundance.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband Carl Marler, her parents John and Dorothy (née Fitzgerald) Lynch, her brother James Lynch, and infant brother John Duffy Lynch III. She is survived by many cousins, nieces, and nephews, and all the lives touched by her kindness, humor, and adventurous spirit.