Mary Rachel Hennessy

It is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of Mary Rachel Hennessy of Boulder City, NV. Mary peacefully passed away on August 1, 2024, at the age of 73.

Mary was born on October 5, 1950, in St. John, North Dakota to Gilliam McGillis and Marilyn June Bolton.

Mary had an eventful childhood and there was rarely a dull moment. She often commented if it wasn't for her mother's love and funny sense of humor, she would not have had the confidence in herself to face challenges head on and become successful later in life. Her mother’s sense of humor always seemed to brighten any storm that came their way.

When Mary was a teenager, her mother married Scott Bolton from Idaho. Scott was in the Air Force and with this marriage Mary gained 5 siblings into her life and then one several years later. (Jackie Clay, Cornelia Bolton, Carol Andersen, Marilyn Mills, Scott Bolton Jr., and Shawna Reed.) 

Mary and her parents moved to Beale Air Force Base in Wheatland, California during her high school years. She graduated from Wheatland Union High School in 1968. This was an important time for Mary as she made lifelong friends at Wheatland: Jerri (Lashlee) Roberts, Birdie (Hancock) Kloph, & Jackie (Pryor) Kearney, plus many others!! These four sweet ladies are friends with her to this day. 

After high school Mary worked as a dental assistant in Sacramento, CA. She was also in a band, which performed often in Sacramento. Mary met her soon-to-be husband (Marty Hennessy) at a concert where she was the lead singer in the band. They exchanged phone numbers, and the rest is history. Marty was a collegiate tennis player and was offered a scholarship to play for BYU in Provo, Utah. The head tennis coach, Wayne Pierce, lent them his car to drive to Elko Nevada to get married. While at BYU they had two children, which were both born in Sacramento, CA to be near family. Martin (1971) and Michelle (1972). Once Marty graduated from BYU they moved to Las Vegas, NV. 

In 1973 Mary ran the tennis shop at the Desert Inn Hotel and was the captain of league teams and taught yoga to the members. While working at the Desert Inn Hotel she had two more children, Matthew (1974) and Michael (1979). One unique accomplishment is that she won the State of Nevada Women’s arm-wrestling championship. 

She later worked at Summa Aviation, then Hughes Aviation, and finally found her home at Quail Air Center where she was the General Manager until she retired over 20 years later. 

Mary developed a great love of aviation over the years. She also loved elephants and traveled to Thailand to spend time at an elephant sanctuary. She had a huge heart for animals, children, and people in general. Her greatest joy was spending time with her four children, and later, her eight grandchildren. Her sense of humor was something her family and friends highly enjoyed. 

Mary was preceded in death by her father, Gilliam, her mother June and her dad Scott. She is survived by her four children and their families, Martin (Kerry), Michelle (Cory), Matthew (Elizabeth), and Michael (Jillian). 

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 10, 2024, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints ~ 916 5th St., Boulder City, NV 89005 at 10:00 am.