Mary Frances Spackman

Mary Frances Spackman (Larsen), 74, of Casper, Wy passed away peacefully at home on December 29th, 2024. Mary was born in Colorado Springs, CO on December 18th, 1950. Her family moved to Casper, WY where she attended CY Middle School and Natona County High School.

Mary eventually went on to sow her wild oats in San Francisco, CA during the 1960’s and 1970’s where she had three children, John, Paul and Julie. She married Paul Spackman, her high school sweetheart and love of her life, in 1978 after he “rescued” her from California and brought her back to Casper, WY where they owned and operated their trucking company for over two decades. Together they raised Mary’s children sailing boats, camping, riding motorcycles, biking and hiking the Wyoming mountains. Paul and Mary were united and in love for nearly 50 years.

Mary was a precious gem to her children. Since she worked from home running the trucking business, she was able and honored to help care for her grandchildren, Taylor, Ash (Austin), and Stacey while their parents worked. She enjoyed this time with her grandchildren, giving them that grandma nurturing and love they would not have otherwise received had they been placed in day care facilities or after-school care.

Being creative brought Mary joy. She was a painter using oil and watercolor. She also taught herself quilting and she quilted many beautiful quilts for friends and family over the years. Her free-motion quilting on her longarm quilting machine was quite stunning, though she would say she was “just messing around”. Mary’s creative journey eventually led her to pottery, where she fell in love with the process (not the result 😊) of working clay into beautiful pieces of art using her throwing wheel and hand building skills. She was a founding member of Sanctuary Pottery Studio in Casper, WY, where she and Max, her beloved corgi mixed dog, spent most of her retirement surrounded by her pottery friends in creative bliss.

Mary was dedicated to taking care of herself, especially when she was on the verge of a diabetes diagnosis. She immediately changed her diet by cutting out all sugar and found ways she could enjoy exercise, including cross country skiing, walking Max and line dancing. Mary traveled across the country with her line dancing group and came home with a flushed and smiling face talking about the great time she had had with her line dancing friends. Her dedication and steadfastness to her healthy lifestyle choices was inspiring to her family and friends.

She will be missed by all who knew her and all who loved her. She was a kind and gentle soul and her daughter’s very best friend.

Mary is survived by her husband of nearly 50 years, Paul Spackman, her three children, John (Christy) Anderson of Florida, Paul (Shawna Hope) Deponzi of Colorado and Julie (Tracy Phegley) Webb of Casper. She also is survived by five grandchildren and four great grandchildren and her brother, Charles Larsen. She was pre-ceded in death by her father (Nicholis Pardue) and her mother (Imogene Larsen).

The family is not having a public service but will have a private memorial at a later date.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that you donate to the Casper Humane Society.

To share a memory of Mary or leave a special message for the family, please visit the guestbook below.