Mary H. Korte

Mary Hurn Korte passed to eternal life in her sleep at home on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at age 77 after a 10-year struggle with heart failure.  She was born on March 5, 1946, in Boston, MA to Eugene W. Hurn and Lola (Gates) Hurn of Henrietta, TX.  She is survived by her husband of 54 years, Don W. Korte, Jr., her son Don “Trey” Korte III, her son-in-law Jamie Schounard, and her grandchildren Lizzy, Brooke, and Erin.

As the daughter of a US Navy Commander, Mary lived in Boston, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Tokyo, northern Virginia, and then Carmel, CA, where she graduated from high school.  She attended The College of William and Mary where she excelled both academically and in women’s athletics.  She was a four-year starter in field hockey and three in lacrosse and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society.  More importantly, William and Mary was where she met Don whom she married after completing her master’s degree at Southern Illinois University in 1969.  Before the birth of Trey, Mary worked as a high school teacher and medical researcher.  Her research at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN, was instrumental in determining the calcium-dependence of an important regulatory molecule now known as calmodulin. As an Army wife, Mary established homes in Silver Spring, MD, Presidio, San Francisco, and Columbus, OH for Don and Trey and did not resume teaching (at Columbus State Community College) until Trey was in high school. After the Army, Mary and Don took positions in the Department of Natural Sciences at Concordia University Wisconsin.  While at Concordia, Mary completed a doctorate from Trinity College/Liverpool University.  For over twenty years Mary taught a variety of science courses at Concordia and was also Director of the Master of Science-Environmental Education program.  In addition to science, Mary loved theology obtaining a Diploma in Christian Apologetics from The International Academy of Apologetics, Evangelism, and Human Rights in Strasbourg, France.   After her retirement she thoroughly enjoyed being a docent at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Mary immensely enjoyed all aspects of God’s creation especially when she could experience it firsthand.  Her favorite activities were raising/showing dachshunds, riding horses, and being at the beach and the ocean whether sailing on it or snorkeling in it.  Some of her happiest times were conducting fish surveys for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation in the Caribbean and the Hawaiian and Society Islands.  Mary was a consummate teacher whose passion was to infuse her students whether secondary, collegiate, or at the zoo with the same love, respect, and awe for nature that she had.

Funeral services (11:30 AM) and visitation (10:00 AM) followed by a reception are on August 8, 2023 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 7877 N. Port Washington Road in Glendale, Wisconsin.  Interment will be at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove on August 22, 2023.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to Mayo Clinic SCAD Research, Rochester, MN; the Tendick Center for Advanced Heart Failure Therapies at St. Luke’s Milwaukee; or the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces would be appreciated.