Mary was the driving force behind the restoration of the Blickenstaff Cemetery (also known as Karn or Fair Cemetery) in Monroe Township, Miami County, Ohio, where a number of her relatives were thought to be buried.

This cemetery was considered lost for a number of years because several references to the cemetery's location were incorrect. When finally located, it turned out the cemetery was on private property and was in great disrepair due to cattle that over the years had knocked over stones, and the collapse of stones due to the many groundhogs with their holes underneath. It was overgrown with weeds and bushes and some stones were buried up to two feet underground.

Mary contacted the owners and convinced them to allow restoration of the cemetary by volunteers, basically descendents of the families buried there. Mary also shared with the owners copies of deeds, pictures, and other information relating to the house built there in 1857.

She met with other volunteers that had worked on restoring cemeteries as well as professional restorers to learn what to do and how to do it. She led the restoration team, always being one of those working at the site.

When it was realized that professional help would be needed to actually finish the project, she solicited funding to finish the effort. Mary and her volunteers assisted when the professionals were there resetting the stones. Finally, Mary made the arrangements to have engraved plaques mounted on two blank stones to identify the cemetery and those buried, as well as the volunteers involved in the work.

She expects to be involved with the ongoing upkeep of the cemetery for the foreseeable future.