Mary Boberg led a truly noble and selfless life serving the less fortunate in her community.

She spent many years filling empty bellies, ensuring basic needs were met and turning despair into hope.

On Thursday, Oct. 19, 2017, Boberg, who lived in Metamora Township, right on the Oxford border, passed away. She was 88.

Boberg was one of the earliest members of Oxford-Orion FISH, founded in 1973. FISH is a local nonprofit group that provides free emergency groceries to families, individuals and senior citizens, who are living on low or fixed incomes, or have fallen on hard times due to job loss, illness and other personal crises.

Last year, FISH distributed a total of 183,287 pounds of food to an average of 165 households (or 382 individuals) per month.

Decade after decade, Boberg, a 1948 graduate of Saint Michael High School in Pontiac, tirelessly volunteered her time and talents to FISH, helping to build and grow the successful and well-respected group. Often, she worked side-by-side with her husband Ted, who passed away in 2008.

“She was an inspiration,” said friend Lynne McLoskey, who spent 18 years volunteering with FISH before moving to Novi in 2015.

“I hope I can be half the person she was. She was such a loving, giving person. Just a sweet, sweet lady.”

“She was just good – good heart, good soul,” said Val Cass, a former Oxford resident who spent about 12 years volunteering for FISH and served as pantry coordinator. “She was a wonderfully kind person.”

“I hope there’s a new generation of volunteers to follow in her footsteps,” said Margaret Monprode, a past FISH president who spent eight years with the organization.

Boberg held many offices within the organization, including president, a position she held for eight years.

“She never slowed down,” McLoskey said.

“It’s a big job, but I am so happy to do it,” said Boberg during a 2013 interview with the Leader for FISH’s 40th anniversary. “I do my darndest to do the best that I can.”

Over the years, Boberg mentored and inspired many of FISH’s younger members.

“She was a key volunteer all the way through and even as she aged and could do less (physically), her opinions and voice were important,” said Monprode, who now lives in South Carolina. “She was older and wiser. She had seen things that had worked in the past (and) things we needed to improve.”

Cass, who now lives in Brandon Township, recalled Boberg was “never resistant” to change and because of that “she helped (FISH) to grow.”

“Often times when you have key leadership people that are of a more mature age, they want to keep things just as they are,” she said. “Mary wasn’t like that. She never wanted to keep doing something (just) because it’s always been (done) this way. She was game to try anything that made sense. She thought anything we could do for FISH clients was wonderful.”

Boberg never assumed she had all the answers. She genuinely wanted to hear other people’s thoughts and ideas.

“You always knew when you were talking to Mary that she was listening to you,” Cass said. “She was a good listener.”

When it came to discussing issues, providing input and making decisions, Monprode recalled Boberg’s take on situations was always “balanced” and “fair.”

“I don’t remember her ever being angry with anybody,” she said. “If I ever needed an opinion, I could ask her.”

McLoskey noted that even when Boberg no longer served on the board of directors, she still attended the meetings to make sure FISH remained an all-volunteer group and that its clients continued to have free access to whatever they needed.

“She was our historian,” Cass said. “She always had the answers (as to) why we did things the way we did and (reminded us of) the principles that FISH was founded on.”

In 2009, FISH honored Boberg with its “Advocate of the Needy” award for her countless contributions and generous spirit.

“Whatever was needed, she would find a way to get it,” McLoskey said.

McLoskey said Boberg strongly believed that everyone should be involved in their community.

“She was just that type of person,” she said. “It wasn’t anything she thought about. It just came naturally to her.”

Her commitment to helping others was motivated by her religious convictions.

“She was a faithful servant of the Lord in more ways than one,” McLoskey said. “Her faith was very important to her.”

Boberg was always proud of the fact that FISH volunteers never look down on the folks they serve. Maintaining the dignity of their clients is of the utmost importance to FISH volunteers.

“We care about the people and that makes a big difference in how we treat them,” said Boberg in 2013.

Boberg always worked hard to ensure that FISH never wasted a single cent or the tiniest scrap of food because to her that was the best way to show appreciation and respect for the organization’s many donors.

“If we don’t take good care of (what they give us), we’re not doing our job,” Boberg told the Leader.

Boberg is survived by her children Margaret Batchelor, of O’Fallon, IL; John (Angela) Boberg, of Oxford; Robert (Jennifer) Boberg; of Indianapolis, IN; and James, of Oxford. She is also survived by 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 58 years, Charles “Ted” Boberg, and her son, Charles “Tom” Boberg.

A memorial Mass was held Oct. 24 at Dominican Sisters of Peace on W. Drahner Rd. in Oxford. Interment followed at Ridgelawn Memorial Cemetery in Oxford.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Oxford-Orion FISH, P.O. Box 732, Lake Orion, MI 48361 or to Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, 775 W. Drahner Rd., Oxford, MI 48371.