Her favorite role was that of Nana. Mary never missed their school functions or other activities. Favorite times were travelling to see family and friends, attending baseball spring training games, and cheering on the Hawkeyes at football and baseball games. For over 50 years Mary and Tom had seasons tickets for Hawkeye football. Mary was a member of St. Patrick's Church, the Church's Social Action Committee and University Women's Club. Mary was proud of her Irish heritage. She was co-founder of County Johnson Irish and was instrumental in organizing the Cedar Rapids annual SaPaDaPaSo parade (St. Patrick's Day Parade Society). Mary is survived by her loving husband, Tom and their four children and eight grandchildren; Bret Hoyer of Cedar Rapids and his children, Chrissie and Braden; Kelly (John) Ward of Springville and their children, Delaney, Ellie and Joey; Kasey Hoyer of Iowa City; and Brooke (Chris) Holahan of Cedar Falls and their children, McKenna, Kate and Cullen; her siblings, Michael (Barb) Ryan of Iowa City, Dan Ryan of Solon and Jean Spurgeon of Iowa City; sisters-in-law Marianne (Tom) Dardis, Sheila Dingrando, and Sharon Dante; numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family. She was preceded by her parents, her brothers, Patrick and Dennis, and brother-in-law, Tom Spurgeon. The family would like to extend their appreciation to all the caregivers at The Bird House. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.lensingfuneral.com To read the full obituary, please click here: http://www.lensingfuneral.com/obituaries/Mary--Ellen-Hoyer?obId=4316503#/obituaryInfo