Mary H. (Johnson) Savely

Mary H. Savely, 78 of Davenport, died Saturday, May 11, 2019 at the Clarissa C. Cook Hospice House, Bettendorf.

Funeral services are 10 am Friday at First Lutheran Church, 1230 5th Ave., Moline. Burial is at the National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Visitation is 3 to 7 pm Thursday at the Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, 3030 7th Ave., Rock Island. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Lutheran Church, Moline.

Mary H. Johnson was born August 3, 1940 in Willmar, Minn., a daughter of the Rev. Clarence and Elvie Anderson Johnson. She married Chaplain Charles R. Savely, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired) on September 29, 1962 in Chicago. He died January 1, 1991. Mary later married James J. McManus on Sept. 25, 2004 in Davenport.

Mary graduated from Augustana College, Rock Island in 1962. She retired from Trinity Cathedral, Davenport, where she was the office administrator. Mary’s distinguished career also included teaching at both public and private schools, as well as serving as an administrative assistant in the criminal investigation detachment of the U.S. Army and being an administrator/recruiter of volunteers with the U.S. Army in West Berlin, Germany. While in Germany, she was involved in planning a reception for then U.S. President Ronald Reagan during his visit to the Berlin Wall.

She was a member of First Lutheran Church, Moline, where she sang in the choir. Mary’s volunteer work included many hours of support to the church and to the communities where she resided. She was a gifted singer and actor having performed onstage as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah and also singing with and directing several choirs.

Survivors include her children, Peter Savely, Chicago, Michael (Cindy) Savely, Davenport, and Sharon (Jim) Lantzky, Davenport; husband, James McManus and his seven children; 23 grandchildren; sisters, Lois (Rev. Victor) Johnson, Wall Lake, Iowa and her identical twin sister, Martha Coakley, Chicago; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; first husband, Charles; brother, Robert Johnson; and brother-in-law, Joseph Coakley.

Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com.

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