Mary Hannah Cruse

INDIANAPOLIS - Mary Hannah Cruse, age 101, passed away peacefully on February 16, 2019 surrounded by family members. She was born April 3, 1917, in Kokomo, Indiana, to Bessie and George Sailors. She graduated from Kokomo High School and was a 1939 graduate of Butler University where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. On December 27, 1941, she married her college sweetheart, Charles R. Cruse, and, immediately thereafter, he shipped out to the South Pacific where he was a member of the Army Signal Corps in New Caledonia for the next 2-1/2 years. Mary Hannah wrote him every day. During the war she lived in Kokomo with her mother, where she taught elementary school, attended Red Cross classes and attended Main Street Christian Church. When Charlie returned to the U.S., they lived in Florida and in Philadelphia until the end of World War II. They returned to Philadelphia when he was called up to serve again during the Korean Conflict. Mary Hannah and Charlie lived most of their married life in Zionsville. They owned Ben Franklin Variety Stores in the Indianapolis area, primarily in Beech Grove and Zionsville, where they worked together for almost 30 years. Upon retirement, they divided their time between Seminole, Florida, and their beloved Crystal Lake in Frankfort, Michigan, where she spent time beginning as a child. In 2010, she moved to Robin Run Village in Indianapolis. She was preceded in death by her husband, Charlie, and her sister, Elma Rose Neale Pattison. She is survived by her nephew, William R. Neale (Carolyn) of Fishers and nieces Nancy Neale Moore of Cincinnati and Kathleen Cruse Jefferies (Rick) of Louisville, CO, along with eight great nieces and nephews and nine great-grand nieces and nephews. She maintained a close bond with all of them and was a wonderful influence on all of their lives. She was a member of Zionsville Christian Church and of Central Christian Church of Clearwater Florida. Services will be at Zionsville Flanner & Buchanan Mortuary on Saturday, March 2, with calling at 10 a.m., followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m and burial at Zionsville Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, friends may make a memorial contribution to the Zionsville Christian Church Endowment Fund, 120 N. 9^th Street, Zionsville, IN 46077.