Mary Protsman

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing--that it was all started by a mouse."

-Walt Disney

If the power of a tiger were contained in a mouse, only then would you have the conception of Mary Anne Protsman. In her prime, this daughter of German-speaking Russian immigrants from the Volga River Valley in Russia stood a lofty five feet tall with a personality big enough to fill the entire room. Her bold, well-rounded, clever and nurturing presence was the culmination of a life's story so unique to this tiny woman that it made her a giant among men. Such a strong woman resided in this small body, it is only fitting her family called her Mouse. The name rolled off the tongue, and she embraced it fondly. Her grandchildren were even raised to call her Grandma Mouse.

Mary Anne was the youngest of 10 children, born to Jacob and Anna Krantz. The Krantz's were one of many German-speaking couples to populate Marienfeld, a small Russian town that is now a mere memory passed down from generation to generation. The town dwindled slowly as its inhabitants relocated to American towns in places like Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado in the hopes of a better tomorrow. It was in rural Kansas where Jacob, Anna and their firstborn son Jake (born in Russia) first sank their roots, and they eventually came to settle down for good in Colorado.

Once in the United States, the Krantz's added to their family nine times over. Born on the 12th day of Christmas (January 6) in 1928, in the small town of Wattenberg, Colorado (just outside of Brighton), Mary Anne was raised alongside her older siblings in the height of the Great Depression when food and resources were scarce all around--it was no exception for the Krantz family. In her last weeks of life, Mary Anne's mind seemed to dance to and from her childhood. Indeed, while eating a container of applesauce, and constantly checking to see when she was "half-way done," this 90-year-old woman, fragile in her then current state, widened her eyes in glee when she was told that she did not need to share the applesauce. "You mean I get to eat the whole thing?!" she exclaimed. Indeed, her family did not have much, but Mary Anne found a way to cultivate a feeling of abundance in her life. She refused to let life make her what she was not.

Mary Anne did not complete high school because, instead, she devoted her time to helping her father study for and pass the exam for US citizenship. Her curiosity and passion for creativity were undeniable, though. She learned to be an expert seamstress and to arrange flowers, upholster furniture, and work in millinery as a professional. Her playful nature brought her to meet Alvin Protsman at a dance with sister Sallie and brother in-law Bob Eisenbarth. In her words, that night she was swept off her swinging feet by a smooth talking sailor. She was 17 years old and never looked back.

Once married, Mary Anne worked for the only phone company in town. Her family members near and far will attest to the fact that Mary Anne never liked to talk on the phone, to which she replied she spent too much time on phones at work. Forever an artist, she was offered a prestigious position at Montaldo's to make wedding hats. However, she turned the position down to be a full-time mom to children Lynnette, Michael and Jeffrey. She and Al wanted their kids to be comfortable with the opportunities they didn't have, including going to the symphony, learning to dance and play music, and participating in sports. They were devoted to making that life a reality.

At age 30, during her pregnancy with her youngest child, Jeff, it was discovered that Mary Anne had a hole the size of a 50-cent piece between the upper chambers of her heart, and she was told by her doctors that without surgery to close the hole her life expectancy would be very limited. Her doctors also tried to convince her that it would be best to abort the pregnancy because they feared she would not survive the childbirth, but she made the difficult decision to carry to full term, knowing it could be at the cost of her own life. With determination, she got safely through the birth of Jeff, and then it was time to face what she described as the scariest and toughest decision of her life--to get her heart repaired, if possible, so she could enjoy a longer time with her family.

Preceding the invention of the "heart-lung" machine and modern surgical methods for open-heart surgery, Mary Anne was placed in the care of Dr. Henry Swan, a pioneer in the field of heart surgery. She was one of the first patients to undergo a new procedure in which patients were first anesthetized and then placed in a bathtub packed with ice to perform the surgery. After lowering her heart rate gradually until her heart was virtually stopped, Dr. Swan and his team had a mere six-minute window to perform the open-heart surgery and warm her again and restart her heart. The tub she sat in now finds its resting place in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.. A procedure of this nature would have discouraged most, yet Mary Anne's will remained. Her kids remember that one of her favorite sayings was, "If you get knocked down, get up, lick your wounds and move on." Move on she did. And, this lesson became even more important a short time later when her husband, Al, passed away after numerous heart attacks.

Independent by nature, Mary Anne was suddenly alone to raise three children; however, she carried forward the principles she and Al built even after he was gone. She raised her kids to take pride in everything they did and to not be sloppy ever. She raised them to be competitive and determined. And, she raised them with the belief that no matter how little one has, you always give. Her family could have fallen apart when Al died, but she stood as the glue to constantly hold it together.

If we are the sum total of all the experiences we have in life, Mary Anne's experiences created a woman who was greater than strong. She played the roles of both mother and father. She knew how to garden, craft, cook, and sew. Yet, she was also bold, a sports expert, and knew what it meant to work hard. The notion of a Renaissance person is often assigned to men, yet this tiny woman embodied it more than most.

She will be remembered by her stubbornness. When she believed in something and was on a mission, look out! She found joy in the smallest of details, leaving her family with a legacy of empowerment, determination, wonder, and detailed perfection. Butterflies, birds, ladybugs, and fairies inspired her. One of the quotes that resonated with her most aptly read as such...

"A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam and for a brief moment, its glory and beauty belong to our world...but then it flies on again, and though we wish it could have stayed, we feel so lucky to have seen it." --Unknown

This obituary was lovingly written by Stephanie Protsman, in memory of her Grandma Mouse
(with a few contributions from the rest of the Protsman clan)... thank you Steph!!!

We ask that any memorial contributions be made directly to the Denver Botanic Gardens in the name of Mary Anne Protsman... the link below will take you there, and we thank you all for contributing to her lasting memory!

https://www.botanicgardens.org/donate