GREELEY, Colo. — Mary Anne Durler was born in Leavenworth on April 27, 1921, the daughter of John Jacob Durler, Sr. and Marguerite Cecelia Reynolds. She graduated from The Dominican (St. Rose) School of Nursing in Great Bend in 1944 and on May 11, 1944 enlisted in the US Army Nurse Corps, receiving her basic training at Colorado Springs.
During World War II she served in both the European and Pacific theaters with her initial assignment in the Manila, Philippines staging area before shipping out to Normandy, France soon after D-Day where she served in a field hospital about 10 miles from the beach, caring for German prisoners of war. She was transferred to Paris on V-E Day, May 7, 1945, to care for the freed American prisoners of war, serving there until she volunteered for the planned invasion of Japan. On V-J Day, Aug. 15, 1945, she was on a ship headed to Japan when news was received of the dropping of the A-bomb. Upon arriving in Japan, her unit joined the occupation troops and set up the 229th General Hospital where she served for eight months before returning to the United States to be discharged in 1946.
After the war, she moved to Denver Colo., continuing her career in nursing. She graduated from the University of Denver in 1953 with a B.S. degree in Nursing Education. She married Clarence Jacobson on April 13, 1955 and they resided In Greeley Colo., where she worked at Weld County General Hospital, Fair Acres Manor, and Bonell. In retirement she pursued studies in religious education. Mary Anne and Clarence had three sons and later divorced.
Mary Anne died Sept. 18, 2011 at the Bonell Good Samaritan Center in Greeley Colo. at the age of 90. 
Survivors are her sons, Larry (Nancy Tandon) Jacobson and granddaughter Nikki, Falmouth, Mass.; and Paul (Meg) Jacobson, Johnstown, Colo.; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother. John J. Durler Jr.; two sisters, Marguerite “Peggy” (Ed) Higgens and Theresa (Chuck) Williamson; son, Karl Jacobson; and granddaughter Kadee Jacobson.
Visitation is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Sept. 26 at Saint Peter Catholic Church in Greeley, Colo. A  rosary will be recited at 10 a.m., with the Mass of the Christian Burial following at 10:30 a.m. Graveside services will immediately follow the Mass at Linn Grove Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Bonell Scholarship Fund, in care of Moser Funeral Service, 3501 S. 11th Avenue, Evans, CO, 80620.

Funeral arrangements provided by
Beckwith Mortuary**
P.O. Box 477
Larned, KS, 67550
Great Bend (Kan) Tribune, Sept. 22, 2011