Mary Gushue Lawton

Mary Gushue Lawton, age 90, of Las Vegas, Nevada, died on July 25, 2024. Mary, who was a native of Buffalo, New York, was a lifelong learner and educator. She was particularly proud of the years she spent teaching English as a Second Language to children in the Clark County School District. She spent time at UCLA and Oxford College in England studying to hone her skills in this new discipline. Mary was an Emerita Master Gardner specializing in desert gardens and created an impressive xeriscaped yard containing many of her favorite desert plants. She also volunteered for years as a docent at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. She was an avid Golden Knights hockey fan cheering them on from the very beginning. Mary was proud of her family’s history in Newfoundland and traveled there on several occasions to visit the fishing village where her father was raised and to research the Gushue family genealogy. Mary is survived by her husband of 62 years, Philip, her sons John (Nina) and Kirke (Janine), and grandchildren Audrey, Maura, Marshall, and Sean. One of eight children, she is survived by sisters Catherine, Donna, and Belinda and brothers George and Lewis. She was predeceased by her parents George and Myrtle, sister Irene, and brother Alfred. Donations in Mary’s memory may be made to Toys for Tots, a charity that Mary supported for years.