RAPID CITY - Strong, caring, resourceful, thoughtful and sometimes stubborn, Mary Jane Dolphin Kingsbury lived her life responsibly, but as she chose. In the evening of Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008, she died as she had chosen, peacefully in her sleep, in the home she loved, surrounded by her family. Two days before, she had been temporarily reanimated by an impromptu living room bluegrass concert performed by her son-in-law Ron Davis, grandson Brian Kingsbury and grandson-in-law Adrian Romero. She smiled and tapped her feet, perhaps recalling the Saturday night dances that brought her and Bill Kingsbury together in Vale, many years ago. She was 92. Hers was a life worth celebrating. Mary was born March 31, 1916, in Denver, to Lucy Cornish Dolphin and James Dolphin. Jim Dolphin, who had helped manage construction of Orman Dam in 1911-1914, left his Denver job with the Bureau of Reclamation, first to farm in Nebraska and later to start a general store in Vale. Mary and her three younger sisters, Gladys, Bernice and Helen, lived above the store in an apartment without running water and with only a woodstove for heat. During her high school years, Mary worked in the Dolphin store, diagonally across the street from the competing Kingsbury store. But on Saturday nights, romance triumphed over capitalism. "I would wait until ten o'clock or so, watching for the light to come on in Bill Kingsbury's bedroom near their store. That was my signal. I would tell my parents that my work was done for the night. Then I would meet Bill and we would dance until after midnight." Named valedictorian of her high school class, Mary earned a four-year scholarship to the University of Denver, but after a challenging two years living under the watchful eyes of her maiden aunts, Mary struck out on her own, teaching at a country school at Fort Morgan, Colo. She completed her formal education with a BA in education from Colorado State College in Greeley. At age 25, Mary took the bus from her parents' home in Oregon to Effingham, Ill., where fiance Bill Kingsbury now worked as a highway engineer. "After days on the road, I was a mess," she said. "I had thought about bringing a formal, but decided that was dumb. So I was shocked years later to find in our closet the tuxedo that Bill had purchased for our wedding." Wardrobe concerns aside, they were married on July 4, 1941. It was a small ceremony. "We had only two witnesses and I didn't know either one of them." They dined on beer and pretzels, and they danced all night. The couple's first child, Bob, was born in Effingham. In 1946, the family moved to Belle Fourche, where Bill worked as an engineer for the state highway department, and daughter Jean was born. The family relocated to Rapid City in 1948, and daughter Mary Ann was born two years later. Mary stayed home to raise her children, then resumed her career as a social studies and English teacher at West Junior High, retiring from that job after 20 years to care for husband Bill, who was ill. She maintained her passion for teaching and volunteered to teach and tutor English to a number of recent immigrants from Viet Nam and Thailand. Mary was active in her PEO chapter, was a charter member of the chapter and coordinated its bed and breakfast program, making many new friends among visitors from across the country. She was recognized as a 65-year member in 2008. Mary was preceded in death by her husband Bill, and her sisters, Gladys Evans, Bernice Joyce and Helen Sieger. She is survived by her son, Robert (Janet) Kingsbury, Albuquerque, NM, and her daughters, Jean (Don) Frankenfeld and Mary Ann (Ron) Davis, all of Rapid City. She had eight grandchildren, Brian (Linda) Kingsbury, Karla (Adrian) Romero, Karen (Ryan) Hultgren, Brad (Holly) Davis, Kara (Jason) Faith, Laura Davis, Lindsay (Frankenfeld) Borgman and David Frankenfeld; and four great-grandchildren, Nathanial and Shira Kingsbury and Caden and Kyan Davis. Services will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 11, at the First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Bob Evans officiating. A memorial has been established.