Mary Royels, a longtime Fernley resident and former co-owner of Mary and Moe's Wigwam, died Sunday following a short battle with lymphoma.
Mary was born May 27, 1930, in Chattanooga, Tenn. She moved to Reno as a young woman and worked for the telephone company. She and her first husband, Gino, built the Dainty Cone, which served ice cream and hamburgers. Mary and Gino divorced, and she married Moe Royels in 1964.
Mary and Moe changed the name of the small restaurant to the Wigwam and slowly expanded their menu. The original restaurant was just one room, and the couple lived in the back.
The Royels sold the restaurant in August 2005 to the Holder Hospitality Group, Mary and Moe still came to the restaurant several times a week to eat.
The walls of the Wigwam are lined with collections of Native American artifacts, cementing Mary and Moe's passion for the Native American community in Wadsworth.
Mary was a member of the auxiliary fire department in Wadsworth and was into anything and everything.
Mary did a lot of work on the Wadsworth cemetery, including listing all the headstones, and was active in the Fernley Ladies Aid Society and a member of the Moose Lodge.
Mary was a very, very generous person, very giving of things. She was always interested in Fernley. The Wigwam was the center of her heart.
A memorial service will be held Friday at the Fernley Volunteer Fire Department at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fernley Volunteer Fire Department of the Fernley Ladies Aid Society.
Mary Royels, a longtime Fernley resident and former co-owner of Mary and Moe's Wigwam, died Sunday following a short battle with lymphoma.
Mary was born May 27, 1930, in Chattanooga, Tenn. She moved to Reno as a young woman and worked for the telephone company. She and her first husband, Gino, built the Dainty Cone, which served ice cream and hamburgers. Mary and Gino divorced, and she married Moe Royels in 1964.
Mary and Moe changed the name of the small restaurant to the Wigwam and slowly expanded their menu. The original restaurant was just one room, and the couple lived in the back.
The Royels sold the restaurant in August 2005 to the Holder Hospitality Group, Mary and Moe still came to the restaurant several times a week to eat.
The walls of the Wigwam are lined with collections of Native American artifacts, cementing Mary and Moe's passion for the Native American community in Wadsworth.
Mary was a member of the auxiliary fire department in Wadsworth and was into anything and everything.
Mary did a lot of work on the Wadsworth cemetery, including listing all the headstones, and was active in the Fernley Ladies Aid Society and a member of the Moose Lodge.
Mary was a very, very generous person, very giving of things. She was always interested in Fernley. The Wigwam was the center of her heart.
A memorial service will be held Friday at the Fernley Volunteer Fire Department at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Fernley Volunteer Fire Department of the Fernley Ladies Aid Society.
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