Mary Jean Erpenbeck

Mary J. (Bezold) Erpenbeck, age 59, passed away in the comfort of her home, surrounded by family, exactly how she wanted to, on October 16, 2025, after a three-year battle with glioblastoma brain cancer.

Mary was known by many for her bubbly personality, sense of humor, deep empathy and care for others, creativity, kindness, feisty spirit, loyalty, resilience, and strength.

She was the epitome of the word “selfless”, as even in her last days, she was more worried about everyone else than herself.

Mary met her husband, Rusty Erpenbeck, at a young age. She was only 16 when they started dating. But they knew as teenagers that they were meant to be, despite others telling them they were too young and moving too fast. They proved those people wrong by sticking together for over 40 years and fulfilling their marriage vows to the end.

In 2019, Rusty suffered from a brain aneurysm and a stroke that left him disabled and needing full-time care. Mary’s entire world was flipped upside down. But she handled it with grace and dignity, and ultimately decided to bring Rusty home and become his caregiver.

He was twice her size and had very little mobility after his brain injury, but she was determined to be the one to care for him. All she wanted was for them to be together in their own home. She renovated their house to make it accessible. She started working 4:00 AM shifts to accommodate everyone else’s schedules so he would never be home alone. She made a lot of sacrifices to make sure he was happy and comfortable.

In October of 2022, Mary started experiencing some new health symptoms that progressed over a couple of months. In January of 2023, while still caregiving for Rusty, Mary was diagnosed with a type of brain cancer called glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma is one of the worst types of cancer you can get. It’s aggressive and moves quickly. The average life expectancy for GBM patients is around 6-12 months. But Mary survived for three years after her first symptoms, or 33 months from her diagnosis.

As if that wasn’t enough, Rusty passed away unexpectedly in November 2023, about 10 months after Mary’s diagnosis. She lost her soulmate while already going through unimaginable hardship.

For the remainder of Mary’s life, she wanted nothing more than to be back with Rusty. Now they’re reunited without pain or suffering.

Mary didn’t “lose her fight with cancer”. She was a badass from the beginning until the end.

She faced cancer with courage and strength, so much so that she survived longer than 90% of people with this disease. She also contributed to brain cancer research through a clinical trial, with the hopes of helping doctors get closer to finding a cure.

Now that her body is gone, so is the cancer. And her soul is free and at peace.

While Mary left us way too young, she lived a full life. She enjoyed music and concerts, theater, vacations to the beach, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, British comedy, reading whole books in one sitting, being around animals of all kinds (especially dogs, horses, and sloths!), unsweet tea and black coffee, and spending time with her friends and family.

Mary worked at Kroger for 27 years and retired just a few months before her diagnosis. She always said that she “hated the job, but the people made it worth it.” Many of her coworkers became like a second family to her over the years, with lots of beautiful friendships.

Mary is survived by her children, Robert Erpenbeck and Tory (Jordin) Erpenbeck, her father, Gene Bezold, her mother-in-law, Barbara Erpenbeck, her siblings, Sue (Russ) Kerdolff, Mark (Laura) Bezold, Lynda (Mike) Sexton, and Tony (Kate) Bezold, her siblings-in-law, Sandy (Tom) Arnzen and Michael (Jennifer) Erpenbeck, and many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, beloved friends, cousins, and aunts and uncles.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Rusty Erpenbeck, her mother, Martha Knochelmann Bezold, her father-in-law, Bob Erpenbeck, and her dog, Kira.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, October 30th, 2025 at St. Agnes Church, 1680 Dixie Hwy, Ft. Wright from 10:00 AM until 11:15 AM. Mary’s Funeral Mass will follow at 11:30 AM.

Donations in Mary’s honor can be made to The Glioblastoma Foundation, P.O. Box 62066, Durham, NC 27715

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To share a memory of Mary or leave a special message for her family, please visit the guestbook below.