Mary Meyers, owner of Mary’s Fabric and Craft Center, died in her home Wednesday at the age of 92. (File Photo by Wendy Post)
For over 60 years, Mary E. Meyers operated her own business in Sayre.
On Wednesday, Meyers died at her home, leaving a legacy of diligence and high-quality service in the Valley.
Meyers’ grandson Dana Ellis said Meyers opened her business in 1953 on Elmira Street in Sayre.
“It started out with Mary’s General Store,” he said.
For decades, Meyers ran her store, which slowly shifted away from the general store and gas station to the fabric and craft store customers know it as today.
“We moved to the current (West Lockhart Street) location in the 1990s,” Dana Ellis said. “With the gas market, we couldn’t keep up with the gas stations on Elmira Street.”
He said when going to the store daily, Meyers had to cross bustling Elmira Street and that on one fateful day, she fell in the middle of the street while crossing.
Her family didn’t want her to cross the street as they noticed increasing amounts of traffic and made the move to West Lockhart Street.
The family convinced Meyers to rebrand the store as Mary’s Fabric and Craft Center.
“My dad said she should shift to the stuff she loved,” Dana Ellis said.
And she loved to knit, to crochet, Dana Ellis said.
“I think without knitting and crocheting she wouldn’t have lived as long as she did,” he said.
Meyers’ fingers were busy with needles and thread up until her death, Dana Ellis said.
Dana Ellis said when Meyers was in her 20s, a doctor diagnosed her with spinal arthritis, which ended up requiring the use of a wheelchair.
“She was in a wheelchair most of her life,” he said.
Meyers’ daughter-in-law and Dana Ellis’ mother Darlene Ellis said when he was a child, Dana Ellis used to sit on Meyers’ lap and get rides around the store in her wheelchair.
But that was just one obstacle for Meyers to overcome.
She also stared death in the eyes at a young age when giving birth to her son, Dana Ellis’ father.
“She had my dad at a young age,” Dana Ellis said. “She almost died giving birth to my father.”
With a ninth grade education and no college, Meyers managed to establish herself as a reputable and hardworking business owner in the Valley and was an inspiration for others, especially Dana Ellis.
“She never went to school or college,” he said.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t smart.
Dana Ellis said he credits her for guiding him in his own business, Pro R/C Fix It Shop, which shares the same building as the fabric and craft center.
“She taught me a lot and she gave me really great advice,” he said.
And Meyers taught many others, too, he said.
Anyone who came to her store looking to have a seam mended, a zipper fixed, or a hole patched up would get an in-service lesson as to how to fix it themselves.
“She would actually teach (people) how (to fix a zipper),” Dana Ellis said.
Darlene Ellis said Meyers was a child of the Great Depression.
“She grew up in the Depression,” she said. “They kept everything so they could reuse it.”
Dana Ellis said she always was fixing things.
“She’d fix a hole perfectly and you’d never know it was damaged,” he said.
Dana Ellis also said Meyers was not one to buy mass produced items, especially groceries.
“She grew everything she ate, made her own bread,” he said because she didn’t like the chemicals large producers used on their products.
Darlene Ellis said Meyers always picked her blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries to sell at the store when they were just perfectly ripe.
Dana Ellis recalled attending various craft shows as a child and getting to use all of the new and unique products vendors had to offer.
He said at those many craft shows, he’d make a new craft and give it to Meyers.
“I surprised her with the crafts I made,” he said. “And she always kept them.”
He said Meyers was an extremely hard worker that strived to provide the best for her customers.
What could people learn from Meyers’ long life and legacy of hard work?
“If you put your mind to it and work hard,” Dana Ellis said, “you’re going to accomplish a lot.”
Darlene Ellis said the community always supported Meyers and her business.
“She was well known and well liked,” she said. “We loved her and we’re going to miss her.”
Meyers’ family and friends will gather from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. May 26 at the Blauvelt Funeral Home at 625 Broad St. in Waverly, with a celebration of Mary’s life to follow at 4 p.m.
Pastor Larry Day will lead the celebration.
Burial will be in the Zion Lutheran Cemetery in Dushore at the convenience of the family.
