Mary Catherine Van Cleave passed away of natural causes on August 30, 2026, in Great Falls, MT, at Peace Hospice. At the age of 85. There will be a Celebration of life held at Croxford Funeral Home on September 12th, 2026, at 1:00 PM, with inurnment at Highland Cemetery, followed by a reception for family and friends at the Amigo Lounge Taco Treat will follow burial.
Mary was born on October 26, 1940 in Lestock, Saskatchewan, Canada, the third child of Nick and Mary (Andrish) Csaki. She joined older siblings Joe and Liz and was joined by a little sister Jean five years later.
Mary and her sisters all loved James Dean as most girls did back then in the 50s. She was never afraid to follow her dreams. Mary and Liz traveled from Canada to Tijuana, Mexico, when Mary was 18 and Liz was 20, on a Greyhound bus. There, they saw professional bullfighting and had a great time.
Then Mary and Liz moved to L.A. where Mary’s first son William James “Jim” Drabert was born. Mary and Liz wanted to break into acting, but God had other plans. Eventually Mary, Liz, and Jim’s father, Jack, all moved to Great Falls, MT, where Mary lived until her passing. Even though she lived in America for 68 years, she always kept her Canadian citizenship. She was also incredibly proud of her Hungarian heritage, with her father, Nick, being born there, and her mother being born to Hungarian Immigrants in Canada.
Mary was a mom, grandma, sister, aunt, and wife. She always put others before herself. After her first husband died, she met Jim Van Cleave and they had a son, Daniel Van Cleave, 16 years after her first son. As time went on, Mary became a grandma to Ariana and ten years later to Adaya, both the children of Daniel and his wife Nichole.
Mary was a housekeeper, a bingo caller, and a casino attendant. She loved to keep a clean house and cook delicious meals and desserts (especially cakes) for her family. Mary also loved to play bingo and play poker on the machine at the Emerald City Casino where she made many friends in her last years. Above all, she loved her grandchildren. Mary was a great mom and even better grandma.
Mary also loved to make people laugh with her tell-it-like-it-is sense of humor. Mary was very kind and generous and would give whatever she had. She will be greatly missed. Mary was a devout believer and God gave her a lot of time on this earth. Mary is now in heaven watching over her family like she always did.
She was preceded in death by her parents Nick and Mary Csaki; her brother, Joe Csaki; her son, Jim Drabert; her first husband, Jack Drabert; and her husband of 33 years, Jim Van Cleave.
She is survived by her son, Daniel (Nichole) Van Cleave; granddaughters, Adaya and Ariana (Cooper) her great grandson Archie; her sisters, Liz and Jean Csaki and nieces, Cindy Wright, Patti Csaki and nephew Steve Csaki.
The Van Cleave family would like to extend their greatest appreciation to the staff and volunteers of Peace Hospice for their dedicated and generous care.
