Obituary of Mary Claire Doyle

Mary Claire Doyle (Geurink), a retired real estate broker and loving mother and grandmother, passed away on April 23, 2024 at the age of 93. Mary Claire was born to parents Clem and Florence Geurink in Davenport, Iowa where she was raised with her three younger sisters. 

Mary Claire found the love of her life in the family paperboy, Ed “Eddie” Doyle. Friendship led to a budding romance as teenagers, after Ed surely skipped a few houses to spend more time with the eldest Geurink girl. Ed and Mary Claire married in 1954. As they built a life together, they moved throughout the Midwest from Terre Haute, IN, to Champaign, IL to Peoria, IL and finally settling in Cedar Rapids, IA in 1960. 

Along the way, Mary Claire and Ed welcomed four incredible children: Shawn, Sheileen, Erin, and Bridget, and they both worked hard to provide a wonderful life for their family. In 1962, once her youngest was out of diapers, Mary Claire went back to school to get her Broker’s License, taking care of the kids during the day and going off to class at night after Ed came home from work. Mary Claire ended up becoming one of the first female Real Estate Brokers in the state of Iowa, an accomplishment that she was incredibly proud of. 

Together, Mary Claire and Ed taught their kids the value of hard work, but they also made sure to get fulfillment out of life and not work too hard all the time. They loved taking the kids on road trips during summer vacations and in her downtime, Mary Claire was an avid reader. She and Ed also enjoyed going out dancing and catching up across the dinner table with friends. At home, she was often found with her phone against her ear, catching up with friends and family. 

Faith was always very important to Mary Claire. She was a devout Catholic and always attended church on Sundays with the family. She was the yin to Ed’s yang; as she passively reflected in prayer, Ed belted out psalms and sung along with the choir. They were always a perfect pairing. Coinciding with her faith, Mary Claire loved the holidays and always decked the house to the nines.

She had a beautiful sense of style, both in her fashion sense and for home interior design.  She never left her house without perfectly done make-up, and a fashionable outfit paired with a signature scarf.  Mary Claire had a unique talent for home design, grouping collections of art and objects in the most attractive arrangements.  She often helped her clients prepare their homes for showing, long before “staging” was a business.   

Mary Claire reveled in her role as “Oma” to her four grandchildren. She was very blessed to have two of them so close through their younger years in Cedar Rapids. She cherished every moment she spent with all of them. She was also extremely proud to have recently welcomed her first great-grandchild this spring.

Mary Claire will be remembered as a strong, independent woman, who loved deeply and always cared about her family and friends. 

Mary Claire was the beloved wife of the late Ed Doyle. She was the loving mother to Shawn Doyle and his wife Susan of Trophy Club, TX, Sheileen Doyle of Madison, WI, Bridget Smith of Denver, CO, and late daughter, Erin Doyle. She was the caring sister to Margot Carney and her husband Jerry of Hatfield, PA,  Ann Condon of Davenport, IA, and Elizabeth “Boo” McLaughlin of Valrico, FL. She was the proud Oma to Ryan Smith and his wife Dana of Lakewood, CO, Molly Smith of Denver, CO, Connor Doyle of Los Angeles, CA and Cristin Sullivan and her husband Kyle of Burlington, MA. Mary Claire had also recently become a great-grandmother to Patrick Sullivan. 

Funeral Services for Mary Claire will be held at 10:00am on June 22, 2024 at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 4105 N Division St, Davenport, IA 52806.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Mary Claire's memory to the Catherine McAuley Center at cmc-cr.org, 1220 5th Ave SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403, where she volunteered.

For online guestbook and service information, please visit www.sullivanfuneralhome.net.