Mary Kaye Baskall

The beloved Mary Kaye Baskall joined the Lord on July 24th, 2023 at just 49 years young; after a courageous battle with stage 4 lung cancer. Mary got to spend the final week of her life in the comfort of her own home, surrounded by her loved ones. Despite the immense amount of pain she had to deal with on a daily basis, she managed to stay happy and high in spirits. Mary has shown those around her what the true definition of a hero is and how strong you can be when life is a challenge. 

Mary Kaye Baskall was welcomed into the world on February 26th, 1974, by Anita Spanarella and John Baskall. As a child, Mary spent a lot of her time being a sweet girly girl, who was infatuated with her hair being embellished with some sort of barrette or headband. Being the girly girl that she was, she engaged in playing with dolls, which sparked her dream of becoming a mother someday. 

As years went by, Mary's wish came true, as she and Robert Martinez, welcomed a beautiful baby boy into the world, named after his father, Robert Martinez. Mary loved her son very much and always enjoyed spending time with him, watching movies, and stating every line of the movie; like the movie Friday! 

Mary worked at a few places, until she stumbled across the Gilpin in Black Hawk. While working in the cage, distributing money at the Gilpin, she was quickly swept off her feet by Robert Marquez. She loved how much Robert could make her laugh and smile. With an addition of a man who could make her laugh so hard, also brought an addition to the family, Robert's daughter, Genevieve Schendel. After a couple years of their relationship blossoming, Mary and Robert welcomed a beautiful baby girl, Brianna Marquez. Mary and Brianna spent a lot of time together playing with baby dolls, Barbies, and imitating a grocery store with fake food. 

Ever since Mary was young, she adored animals. Through the years, she surrounded herself with pets. These pets weren't like pets to her at all, but more of children who were incredibly spoiled. 

As much as Mary enjoyed her space, she loved being surrounded with her loved ones. Even as Mary got older, she was still the same girly girl who enjoyed making her hair big and curly, putting on makeup, and dressing up. During her final week of life, she was adamant of having her nails painted and her wig put on, that her daughter, Brianna, bought her, so she could go out "looking good". 

Mary was a blessing and was a wonderful daughter, wife, mother, stepmother, sister, and aunt. She will be missed dearly by friends and family. But what will be missed most of all is her strength, courage, and her infectious laugh that could make anyone smile.

She was preceded in death by her beloved grandmother Spanarella and dog Toby.  She is survived by her husband Robert, son Robert, daughter Brianna, step-daughter Genny, mother Anita, and sisters Lisa and Gina.

A funeral service will be held for Mary on Monday August 7, 2023.  Donations in Mary’s memory can be made to Crossroads Church. https://crossroadsabc.com