Mary Nadine Oneida

Mary Nadine Oneida was born in Shoshone, Idaho, on January 7, 1934, to William Dewey Williams and Mary Alice (Moore) Williams. Mary was the third of four children, following her sister, Joyce, and older brother Burrell, and preceding her younger brother, Dale. Her parents owned a farm to the north of town, and the kids initially were bussed into town for school. When their father passed in 1943, the family moved to Shoshone to a house across from the high school, where their mom worked as a lunch lady. The family farm was operated for some time by a tenant and later sold.

Mary grew up in town, graduating from Shoshone High School in 1952. She was an excellent student and took pride in her extracurricular activities, having been a majorette with the marching band as a freshman and sophomore and a cheerleader as a junior and senior. It was during her early high school days when she first became acquainted with Frank Anastacio Oneida, the young man who would later become her husband.

After Mary graduated from high school, she took a job with Idaho Power Company in Shoshone, doing customer service, while continuing to live with her mom and contributing to the family coffers. During this time, she stayed in touch with Frank, who was serving in the military during the Korean War. Upon his discharge form the Army in early 1953, he returned to Shoshone, and they were married on May 14th in that same year. That fall, the couple moved to Pocatello, Idaho, where Frank attended Idaho State University for one year, and then transferred to in 1954 to the University of Idaho in Moscow, where the couple welcomed a son, Gary Frank Oneida, into their young family. After Frank graduated from the U of I in 1957, the couple returned to Shoshone and Frank went to work with the State Highway Department. In 1958, the couple welcomed another son, Arlen Dene Oneida, into the world, followed in 1963 by their third son, Patrick Lynn Oneida.

In 1965, Frank was offered a promotion that relocated the family to Pocatello, Idaho. When Pat was safely in school, Mary initially began volunteering at Alameda Junior High, moving on to a paid position in the library which led to her being employed by Idaho State University in their library acquisitions section. Frank and Mary remained in Pocatello, raising their boys through high school, until 1983, when Frank was promoted and the couple relocated to Boise, Idaho. Mary was able to transfer into a similar library position at Boise State University, where she stayed up until their mutual retirement in the early 1990s. They remained in Boise, happily engaging with their many friends and family for the next two decades.

Mary and Frank remained active throughout the 1990s and into the new century, going camping in their motorhome, traveling across the country, and square/round dancing in Boise and elsewhere with the Capitol Squares. They particularly enjoyed their annual camping trip each summer to Ketchum, Idaho, for the reunion of family, friends, and extended family from Idaho and beyond. Family was tremendously important to Mary and Frank, and spending time with their children and grandchildren and being present for important events in their lives meant the world to them.

The couple returned to Pocatello in January of 2019 and moved into a retirement care center near their sons, Gary and Pat, and their families. On February 25, 2023, Mary passed at 89 years of age due to complications form a continuing illness. Mary was preceded in death by her husband Frank, her parents Dewy and Alice, her sister, Joyce Bernard, and her brother Burrell Williams. She is survived by her three sons Gary (Patty) Oneida, Dene (Jamie) Oneida, and Pat (Amanda) Oneida; granddaughters Danielle, Leslie, Shelly (Vicki), Jessica, Andreana (Jessy), and Brittni; grandson Christopher, and great grandson Skyler. Mary is survived as well by people she loved and counted as family, particularly her sister in law Marcella Oneida, and Sandra Cavanaugh.

The family would like to express its heartfelt appreciate to the staff of The Gables Memory Care as well as Heritage Health and Hospice for their highly professional and compassionate treatment of our mother.

In lieu of flowers, a suggested donation to the charity of your choosing would be appreciate.

The family will receive friends and others at a viewing on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, from 3-5 p.m. at Wilks Funeral Home in Chubbuck, Idaho. Graveside Services will then take place on Thursday, March 2, 2023, at noon at the Shoshone Cemetery in Shoshone, Idaho.

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