Mary Fishback van Tol – Indialantic, Florida – White Plains, New York

May 24, 1933 - Jan. 3, 2020

Posted

Mary Cornelia Fishback van Tol, of Indialantic, FL and White Plains, NY, passed away peacefully on Jan. 3, 2020, at the age of 86.  

Mary was born in Brookings, South Dakota on May 24, 1933, cherished daughter of Horace Fishback Jr. and Margaret Nason Fishback; devoted sister to Horace III, Nason, Robert, and Van Dusen.  

Mary’s idyllic childhood with her much beloved brothers included family sings around the piano, horse-drawn buggy and winter sleigh rides, rafter jumping in the barn, ponies in the back pasture,  picnics at Lake Oakwood, tennis, croquet, gymnastics and swimming. 

Mary attended Oberlin College in Ohio, and following graduation volunteered with the American Friends Service Committee, rebuilding in post-war Europe.   Mary took up residence in White Plains, NY upon her return and became church secretary of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in Manhattan.  

She soon after joined Memorial United Methodist Church in White Plains and became an indispensible office manager and active parishioner for many years.  

Mary met her husband, Peter Karel van Tol, originally of Hazerswoude, Holland, through the church. They married in 1958 and lovingly raised their three children in a happy, bustling home filled with hobbies, music, animals and friends.  Mary was an enthusiastic volunteer with the PTA and Girl Scouts, and a charter member of Chapter BK and lifelong sister in P.E.O., a philanthropy supporting women’s education.  

Mary and Peter hosted numerous international students in their home through the years as advocates for global citizenship, inclusivity and peace. Upon retirement, they relocated to Indialantic, FL where Mary transferred to P.E.O.  Chapter EM, and volunteered at the Women’s Center in Melbourne, FL, providing counseling services to women in need.  Mary was an avid reader and gifted writer who chronicled her family’s long history in South Dakota using ancestor’s letters dating back to the 1880’s.

 She was an exceptional piano player, always called upon as the accompanist at family reunions and on holidays, and will be remembered for her patient and loving devotion to family, her great intelligence and humility, her wry and playful sense of humor,  and her unwaveringly kind heart toward all.

Mary is survived by her three adoring children, Margaret Cornelia van Tol (Corrie) of Buffalo and Armonk, NY; Helen Mary van Tol-Bettino, and Peter Matthew van Tol, both of White Plains, NY; two grandchildren, Lauren Mary Bettino and Katherine Helen Bettino; brothers Robert (Patricia) Fishback and Van Dusen (Barbara) Fishback, of Brookings, SD; sister-in-law Margie Fishback (Nason) of Geneva, NY; and many admiring nieces and nephews.  Contributions in her honor may be made to the Florida P.E.O. Scholarship, c/o Judy McGinty, 2722 Riverview Drive, Melbourne, FL 32901.