Mary Helen (nee Scanland) Malan

Mary Helen (nee Scanland) Malan, age 87, of Highland, Ill., passed away Saturday, August 10, 2019. Mary Helen was born September 11, 1931, in Mineola, Mo. to Charles and Pauline (nee Summers) Scanland. At age five, her family moved to the Hatton Farm outside of Auxvasse, Mo. Mary Helen and her two sisters (Charlene and Jane) attended the Blades Grade School in Montgomery County, then Viers and Hereford Grade School in Callaway County, Mo. Mary Helen graduated from Fulton High School in 1950. She attended William Woods College, graduating in 1952. She completed her Registered Nursing Program by studying in St. Louis at the Deaconess School of Nursing and graduated in the first Bachelors of Science Nursing (BSN) program offered at the University of Missouri at Columbia. While studying Nursing, Mary Helen was set up on a blind date by her roommate and close friend, Lila. Leslie Earl Malan and Mary Helen married April 28, 1956, at Calvary Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo. They would be married for 62 years and had three daughters: Janelle Sue, Catherine June, and Anne Leslie. She devoted much of her time and energy as a caregiver to other family member's; including caring for her own mother Pauline Scanland of Fulton, Mo.; until Pauline passed away at age 98. Mary Helen and Leslie lived on their grain and livestock farm two miles east of Highland for their life together, until retiring together at Cedarhurst in Shiloh, Ill. Mary Helen's funeral will be held Saturday, August 31, 2019, with visitation from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the church sanctuary at the First Baptist Church of Highland, 2709 Poplar St., Highland, IL 62249. Her Memorial Church Service will be held from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. in the same church. Interment will be immediately following at Gullick Cemetery on Leroy Road of Highland, Ill., then everyone is invited to gather back at the church fellowship hall for a post-funeral meal. Memorial contributions and donations may be made in Mary Helen (Scanland) Malan's memory to: Sinclair School of Nursing and will be received by the Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home in Highland. Please view the online obituary and/or contact Spengel-Boulanger Funeral Home at 618-654-2133 with questions. Feel free to send condolences or share memories with Mary Helen Malan's family at www.spengel-boulanger.com.