Mary Cobelle Cloyd was born at home on June 29, 1926 to Hoyt and Stella Cloyd in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Mary was the fourth of seven children; her parents were sharecroppers who raised cotton.

Mary played on the girl’s basketball team in high school, attending a one-room high school where she was one of four girls to graduate in 1943. The boys in her class had quit school to serve in WW II.

After graduation, Mary moved to Memphis with her older sister Louise, and worked for Sears Roebuck where she met Roy Cole who was on leave from the Navy. They married on March 5, 1945 in North Bend, Oregon where Roy was stationed. After the war, they settled in Seaside to raise their family. Mary and Roy had seven children in eight and a half years. As the mother of seven children, she was a stay-at-home mom until her young were able to care for themselves. Starting in 1968, Mary worked at the Montgomery Wards store on North Holladay, and later at the Sears store on Broadway. Roy and Mary owned the Tyberg Motel in Gearhart from 1982 untill 1990 when they retired and were able to take advantage of the travel benefits afforded them by their eldest daughter Shirleen’s 40 years of employment as a flight attendant with Northwest Airlines. They enjoyed visiting their children and grandchildren regularly in Florida, Minneapolis and San Diego. They also enjoyed several trips to Hawaii. For Mary and Roy’s’ 50th wedding anniversary their children sent them on an Alaskan cruise.

Mary was an active member of the Romona Rebekah Lodge in Seaside since 1947, serving as Nobel Grand three times and over the years and taking on the responsibilities of many other offices. Mary volunteered her time and talent for over 25 years making lap quilts for the patients at the Seaside Hospital and the Odd Fellows’ retirement home in Portland.