Mary Ann Urquhart

May 6, 1928 -

Nov 6, 2025

Mary Ann Morris Urquhart, a beloved wife and mother, and a pioneering Alaska nurse, died on Nov. 6, 2025, at Alaska Regional Hospital after a long illness. She was 97. Mary Ann was born in the small farming town of Faribault, Minn., in 1928. She was the fourth of six children of George and Celania Morris. She grew up surrounded by family; and enjoyed sledding and skating in the robust Minnesota winters, learning about adventure from her game warden father and about caregiving from her mother, a lifelong nurse. Mary Ann graduated from Faribault High School in 1946, then left home for St. Luke's School of Nursing in St. Louis, Mo. She completed her nurse's training in 1949.

In 1952, Mary Ann's spirit of adventure led her to travel to the then-territory of Alaska. Arriving by steamship, she set to work as a nurse in Alaska's first city, the frontier town of Ketchikan. She embraced life in the last frontier, fascinated by the people and the atmosphere of the place. It was while working at Ketchikan General Hospital that Mary Ann met the love of her life, Robert Merle "Bud" Urquhart. Bud was visiting his brother, a patient at the hospital, when Mary Ann noticed his "beautiful blue eyes." The two were married in Ketchikan in 1953. They welcomed daughter Diane in 1954, followed by Kathleen in 1955, Robert in 1963, and Steven in 1967.

Through Bud's work with the Alaska Marine Highway system, the Urquhart family lived in Seward and Juneau. Mary Ann worked as a nurse in both Seward and Juneau, and worked at raising her close-knit, laughter-filled family as they moved throughout the state. They eventually settled in Anchorage, where Mary Ann practiced nursing at the Alaska Native Hospital. After a stint in Fairbanks during the Alaska pipeline construction years, Mary Ann and Bud built a hillside home in the Valli Vue neighborhood of Anchorage.

Mary Ann loved gardening, dancing and gatherings of family and friends. She enjoyed camping and fishing with her beloved Bud and was a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction. She was an accomplished seamstress, and tried her hand at drawing, painting, ceramics, quilting and other creative pursuits. Mary Ann never hesitated to engage a stranger in conversation, and her lively interest in other people and quick wit made for some memorable encounters during her travels to Europe and throughout the United States.

After Bud's death in 1995, Mary Ann continued to travel, visiting family and friends, and always encouraging her six grandchildren, who adored her.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Bud; sisters, Jean Betcher and Frances Cassidy; and brother, George Morris. She is survived by her brother, James Morris; sister, Barbara Rost; children, Diane (Gerry) Hooper of Kenai, Kathleen of Anchorage, Robert (Giulia) of Albuquerque, N.M., and Steven (Christine) of Champlin, Minn.; six grandchildren, Michael Hooper, Lisa Hooper Linegar; Jared, Rachael, Daniel and Ryann Urquhart; six great-grandchildren, Fiona, Faida and Gabriel Linegar, Conn and Jett Urquhart, Lincoln and Rylee Hooper; and many beloved nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful Nurses, CNAs and staff at Alaska Regional Hospital and Ancora Hospice for their compassionate care of Mary Ann and her family during the final weeks of her life.

A Celebration of Life will be scheduled for spring 2026. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Alzheimer's Association.