Mary Skinner

Mary Helen (Laker) Skinner of Danville, Illinois, passed away unexpectedly on May 13, 2023, at the age of 73.

Mary was born on March 1, 1950, to Thelma (Lenning) and Samuel Laker in Danville, Illinois. After graduating from high school in Danville, Mary briefly attended Eastern Illinois State University in Charleston, Illinois.

Mary met Gordon Skinner in April 1968 at a family wedding and they married in December of that year. They had two children, Jack Christopher Skinner and Sarah Lenore Skinner. For the majority of their fifty-five years of marriage, Mary and Gordon lived in Danville.

Mary worked for the Danville Township Transportation Department as a driver and dispatcher before taking a job in the student Financial Aid department at the University of Illinois, where she worked for more than two decades before her retirement in 2011.

Marys life was spent helping people. She loved assisting students at the U of I navigating the financial aid system. For much of her life she was a regular blood donor at the American Red Cross and she spent as much time as possible volunteering at the OSF Bobette Steely Hegeler Cancer Care Center. Her children and grandchildren were the joy of her life, and in turn their memories of her are of an involved, caring mother and grandmother who was always there for them. She loved cooking and baking for them and always looked forward to the holidays to make cookies. Mary was also a passionate pet parent to her schnauzer Yogi and three Siamese cats, Fiona, Jax, and Lil Bit. In recent years Mary was inspired by the life story of Patrick Mahomes and was overjoyed to watch him lead Kansas City to victory in the Super Bowl earlier this year.

Mary was predeceased by her parents and her brother, David Laker. Mary is survived by many loving family members and friends including her husband Gordon Skinner; her sister Julia (Laker) Demmin; her brothers Steve and Stan Laker, her daughter Sarah and her son, Jack, and his wife, Jaime (Myers) Skinner; as well as her four grandchildren: Sebastian Skinner, Lorenzo Skinner, Ollie Skinner, and Dylan Myers Price; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

In lieu of flowers, please consider contributing to American Red Cross or the OSF Bobette Steely Hegeler Cancer Care Center.

The family requests casual dress for the memorial visitation.

A Celebration of Life Memorial Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 PM on Friday, May 19, 2023 at Sunset Funeral Home and Cremation Center in Danville, Illinois, 3940 N Vermilion St. Danville, Illinois 61834. Burial will be in Sunset Memorial Park.

Please join Marys family in sharing memories, photos and videos on her tribute wall at www.sunsetfuneralhome.com .