Dates

• Existence: 1952

Biography

Mary Mascher was born in 1952 in Iowa City, the sixth of twelve children of Harry and Lucille Seelman. She graduated from Regina Catholic High School in 1970 and married Dick Mascher in 1971. The following year, she matriculated at the University of Iowa, earning a bachelors degree in counseling and a masters in counseling education. Mascher taught 5th and 6th grade in Iowa schools for 33 years, serving as president of the Iowa City teachers’ union before her retirement in 2009. In 1994, she ran for the Iowa House as a Democrat and won, representing parts of Iowa City in the House for almost 30 years (District 46 from 1995-2003, District 77 from 2003-2013, and District 86 from 2013-2023). An active member of the Iowa City community, Mascher has served as a member of the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission and the Riverfront Commission, as well as president of the Iowa City Education Association. She has performed in several productions of the Iowa City Community Theater and helped organize Iowa City’s first girls’ softball league, as well as serving on the boards of both groups. Statewide, Mascher has served on the boards of the Iowa State Sesquicentennial Commission, the State Reading Recovery Advisory Board, and the Governor’s Commission on Children’s Mental Health. She has served as an ex officio board member of the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System and Early Childhood Iowa.

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