Marylou Olivarez Mason (née Hernandez, July 8, 1936 – May 18, 2019) was an American civil servant.

Biography

Marylou Hernandez was born in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, and came to

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

with her family as a seasonal farmworker. The family settled in

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

. Mason was educated at St. Joseph High School. She married and the couple had five children. They later divorced and she became a single mother. She worked in a doctor's office, starting as a receptionist and eventually becoming the office manager. She studied at the Saginaw School of Nursing part-time, graduating in 1969. She next worked at various nursing jobs until 1977, when she was hired by the

Michigan Department of Civil Rights Michigan Department of Civil Rights is a department of the Michigan State Government created in 1965 to support the work of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission of Michigan's Constitution of 1963. The Commission directs the work of the department ...

. In 1986 she became the first woman executive director of the Michigan Hispanic Latino Commission. Initiatives by Mason included Michigan Hispanic Heritage Month, the Hispanic Student Summit and Legislative Advocacy Day in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

. She retired at the end of 2015. Olivarez married George E. Mason, a former assistant attorney general. Marylou Mason was the first Hispanic woman to serve on the board of directors for

Lansing Community College Lansing Community College is a public community college with its main campus in Lansing, Michigan. Founded in 1957, the college's main campus is located on an urban, site in downtown Lansing spanning seven city blocks approximately two bloc ...

. She received the Diana L. Gorham Lifetime Achievement Award from the Lansing

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, the Cesar Chavez Community Service Award, the Ordinary Women Doing Extraordinary Things Award from the

National Women's History Project The National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. The NWHA was formerly known as the National Women's History Project. Based out of Santa Rosa, California sinc ...

's Michigan chapter and the Regional Mujer Award from the National Hispana Leadership Institute. In 2000, she was named Hispanic Woman of the Year. She received the

Ohtli Award The Ohtli Award or Reconocimiento Ohtli is an honor the Mexican Government gives to Mexican citizens who work in the United States and other countries and who have given assistance to Mexican citizens or promoted their culture. About The Ohtli ...

from the Mexican government in 2005. In 2014, she was named to the

Michigan Women's Hall of Fame The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame (MWHOF) honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. The hall of fame was founded in 1983 by Gladys Beckwith and is sponsored by the Michi ...

. In March 2015, she was featured in the book ''Great Girls in Michigan History'' by Patricia Majher. In April 2017, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette charged Mason with embezzling money intended for a Cesar Chavez statue. A Michigan State Police investigation showed that Mason embezzled more than $73,500 between February 2013 and June 2015, the state Attorney General's Office has said. Mason pleaded guilty in December 2018. Mason died on May 18, 2019, at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Marylou Olivarez 1936 births 2019 deaths American women nurses American women civil servants Hispanic and Latino American people People from San Antonio People from Saginaw, Michigan Ohtli Award winners Nurses from Texas