Mary Alice Harney

Mary Alice was born on October 30, 1947, in Detroit, MI, the third child of Milford and Muriel Woodbeck (nee Noble). She attended Academy of the Sacred Heart in Bloomfield Hills, MI from kindergarten through high school. She continued her education at Barat College in Lake Forest, IL, where she earned her elementary teaching degree. It was during her senior year at Barat that she met Bernard Harney, who would become her husband and best friend.

Mary Alice and Bernard were married on August 16, 1969, at Gesu Jesuit Catholic Church in Detroit, MI. Early years of their marriage were filled with travel and new experiences, including a move to Marshall, MN in 1970, where Bernard joined the faculty of Southwest State University as an associate professor of psychology. Mary Alice took a position teaching fourth grade at Holy Redeemer Catholic School. After teaching for a few years, she became the lead of the Title One program through Marshall Public Schools and Holy Redeemer and continued this for what she described as 40 thoroughly rewarding years. During her teaching career, she helped countless students gain skills and confidence with math and reading.

Mary Alice found time to teach yoga at Southwest State and train for multiple road races, including marathons in Duluth and Minneapolis. She remained physically active and regularly attended classes at the Marshall YMCA until it became difficult for her to continue exercise. She cherished the lifelong friendships she made at work and in the community.

In 1972, Mary Alice and Bernard welcomed their first child, Peter. He joined them in their continued travels to locations including New Orleans, Florida, California, Chicago, Michigan, Canada, and New Mexico. They especially enjoyed Santa Fe and Taos, and for many years spent a month each summer in Taos. Their family grew to four in 1979, when their daughter Meghan was born. The Harneys continued to travel in the summers, focusing on the southwest and visiting family in California, hiking the outdoors, and exploring new and unique cultures. These unforgettable adventures provided the foundation which helped shape their children’s lives. Once their children were out on their own, Mary Alice and Barney extended their travels to include Scottsdale, the eastern states, London, Paris, and Vienna, returning to London and Paris multiple times.

Anyone who met Mary Alice soon found her to be a genuinely positive and uplifting person who inspired everyone to be their best selves. She celebrated life and all its experiences, from the small daily routines to the Magic of Christmas-she loved presenting others with ‘the perfect gift’ not expecting anything in return. She was a creative person, an amazing story teller, and an inspirational woman. She enjoyed being outdoors, traveling, gardening, sewing, yoga, and shopping for unique clothing and accessories. Her absence is felt daily by those who loved her.

Mary Alice is survived by her husband of 56 years, Bernard; her son Peter Harney and his children Isla and Liam Harney; her daughter Meghan Harney, son in law Brian Sandri, and their children Moira and Feehan Sandri; her brothers Milford (Woody) and Thomas Woodbeck; and her sister Judy Malachowski, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her parents Milford and Muriel; mother in law Ella Harney; sisters in law Rosemary Harney and Mary Elizabeth “Hart” Hrabe; and brothers in law James Barker Harney and Michael Malachowski.

A funeral mass will be held at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Marshall, MN on Thursday, July 9th, 2026, at 10 a.m. with a light lunch to follow. A livestream will be available if you are unable to attend in person, and the event will be recorded.

Interment in the Harney family mausoleum, located in the historic Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, LA, will be arranged at a later date.

Memorials preferred in Mary Alice’s name to Holy Redeemer Catholic School, Marshall, MN.