Sandpoint’s ‘grand dame,’ Mary Faux

Beloved 97-year-old named first female grand marshal of ’50s parade

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

If Sandpoint were to have an official grand dame, Mary Faux would certainly be at the top of the list. The 97-year-old has been known as “The Hat Lady” in Sandpoint for generations, thanks to her proclivity to show up at Sandpoint functions wearing one of the hundreds of fabulous hats in her collection.

Faux was just honored as the first female grand marshal of the Lost in the ’50s parade, so you might have seen her leading the procession in downtown Sandpoint on May 15. The ’50s organizers dubbed Faux the “spirit of Sandpoint” — and for good reason — she’s a good-natured soul who, at 97, has more life spirit than many half her age.

Born in Declo, Idaho — a tiny suburb of Twin Falls — Faux first moved up to Sandpoint in 1963 when her husband Howard received a promotion at First National Bank.

“My most vivid memory is looking out my living room window and seeing one logging truck after another on the highway, all of them completely full of logs,” Faux told the Reader. “It was kind of exciting.”

“Faux” wasn’t always the spelling of her last name. She said it was originally “Fawkes,” but after the Guy Fawkes assassination plot against the English king, her ancestors changed the spelling to avoid any association. It’s still pronounced “Fox.”

With a legion of fans throughout Sandpoint, Faux is one of those people you’re lucky to know. An outspoken lifelong Democrat and Catholic, she said she’s also known around the area for teaching and playing bridge; teaching Weight Watchers for 35 years, well before the health kick was popular; and attending functions throughout the seasons with one of her famous hats on her head.

“I taught people how to eat in a healthy way,” she said. “I also taught bridge for 25 years, teaching them how to have fun.”

When asked what it was like being a prominent Democrat in North Idaho all these years, Faux said it “wasn’t always like this” in the panhandle, as far as politics were concerned.

“When I came here, I remember having a party with Cecil Andrus and Jerry Brady,” she said. “Brady would’ve been the best governor we ever had.”

Before the parade, Faux was asked if she would ride in a car driven by Dover Mayor George Eskridge, a local Republican.

“I don’t have any problem with George, I just didn’t vote for him,” Faux said, in her usual style.

Born just eight years after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, Faux said she was honored to lead the parade as the first female grand marshal.

“Makes me feel that women are finally winning something,” she quipped.

Faux has six children with her husband — all of whom attended Sandpoint High School — and she said she’s proud to have 55 grandchildren, including great- and great-greats, with two more on the way.

With a mind as sharp as a tack, Faux often credits her vitality to her health routine. She still gets up every morning and walks, rides a stationary bike and does yoga and tai chi. She has a memory like a steel trap, even remembering the time my own mother “saved her life” by pulling a dog off of her during one of her daily walks.

She’s dismayed by the direction the world has taken, but never loses hope that we’ll get better someday.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes in my life,” Faux said. “I remember seeing cattle trucks loaded with Japanese men and women going past my house in southern Idaho to a concentration camp. I was a little kid standing by the road and they were looking out through the bars in the cattle truck. I was thinking, ‘What did they do? What’s going on? Why are they in there?’”

Faux’s father served in the army, her husband in the navy and her brother in the air force. 

“I’ve always had people in my family in the military,” she said. “I’ve always been very patriotic. I haven’t lost hope. My greatest hope, in fact, is that I will live to see Trump out of office.”

One cannot write about Mary Faux without mentioning her impressive collection of hats, which number more than 200. Each hat is preserved in the original boxes stacked in a room in her home dubbed “Hat Heaven.” It’s hallowed ground for Faux fans throughout Sandpoint.

“This room takes up a lot of my time,” she said, looking up at the stack of hatboxes lining the wall.

“Which one is your favorite?” I asked.

“Whichever one I’m wearing,” she replied quickly.

Faux said she has always been a fashionista. Her mother worked as a milliner, and Faux said her love of hats developed over time as she accumulated more and more of them. Her most cherished hats were purchased from Nordstrom and made in Italy. 

Once, after wearing a soft plum-colored selection, she was startled to see on television that NBA star Dennis Rodman was wearing the same exact hat.

“I guess we both have good style,” she smiled.

As far as her words of advice for those hoping to achieve her longevity and health: Keep going.

“Just stay healthy, stay outside, keep walking,” she said. “People have compared me to Betty White. Wasn’t she about 100 when she finally retired and went to heaven? I guess I’ll just keep Betty White-ing along.”