Mary K. Giles (aka Mary Kay), 73, died peacefully on August 15, 2022 at Lourdes Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, after a long illness.

Mary Kathryn Bathurst was born in Olean, New York, in 1948, to Grace and William. The family later moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she attended St. John the Baptist elementary school, and Bishop Luers High School. She graduated from high school in 1966, and then moved to Michigan to attend Mercy College of Detroit, where she graduated with a B.A. degree in 1970.

While attending Mercy College Mary Kay met her first husband, Albert Zolton, and they were married shortly after her graduation. In addition to raising their two children, Mary Kay gave private piano lessons, and also worked as a teaching coordinator at Mercy College. After she and her husband amicably parted ways, Mary Kay furthered her education, and received a M.A. in teaching from Oakland University in 1991.

Mary Kay then pursued a teaching career, and for the next 15 years taught at several schools in the Detroit area, both elementary and high schools, as well as community colleges. She also taught English as a second language, coaching many executives of the Big Three auto makers, and their families.

She met her second husband, Mark Giles, in 2000, and they were married in 2002. A few years later Mary Kay decided to retire from teaching, and the couple spent much of their remaining years together reading and traveling.

As a teacher of English and speech, Mary Kay, of course, was a voracious reader, finishing a different novel every few days. Her favorite genres were mysteries, adventure, and international intrigue. She also enjoyed film and television, especially any and all Sunday night PBS drama series. Her love of movies ranged from art films to James Bond to the Lord of the Ring trilogy, which she watched many times over, too many to count.

Mary Kay’s love of music was profound, and her tastes were broad and eclectic, running the gamut from the Beatles to Leonard Cohen to Broadway musicals to classical, in particular, the works of Felix Mendelssohn. She sang in her church choir, and performed in various duos and trios. Mary Kay’s memory was uncanny, and upon hearing even a short fragment of a song, she would finish the entire song with near-perfect recall of the lyrics.

Her other favorite pastimes included following tennis, and she adored Roger Federer, both as a great player and a humanitarian. She was also an avid fan of the game show, Jeopardy. Mary Kay’s knowledge of literature, mythology, and the arts, was deep, so, as her husband Mark said, “Watching Jeopardy with Mary Kay was always a mortifying experience, because she’d correctly answer ten questions to every one of mine”.

Mary Kay is survived by her husband, Mark; her children, Albert Zolton and Diana Zolton-Sproule (David); her grandsons, Dylan and Noah Sproule; her three sisters, Anne Click (LeRoy), Barbara Bathurst, and Susan Price. She is also survived by four stepchildren and eight step grandchildren.

Mary Kay was preceded in death by her first husband, Albert Zolton; parents, Grace and William Bathurst; brother, Stephen Bathurst.

There will be no visitation or funeral service, but a celebration of life may be planned for a future date.

Lourdes provided exceptional and compassionate care to Mary Kay during her final months, so the family asks that all tributes take the form of donations to Lourdes Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, Waterford, Michigan. Donations can be easily made online using the following web address: lourdesseniorcommunity.networkforgood.com. The donation should be directed to Lourdes Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, and designated as a “memorial”, along with Mary Kay’s name.