Growing Up:
Mary grew up in Ashton, IA where she lived on a farm with her family. She had 2 older brothers and 1 younger sister. She went to high school at St Joseph’s in Ashton. Later, she went to college at Mount Marty University in South Dakota for 2 years, where she went to purse a degree in Teaching. She then went to Westmar University for 2 years where she started teaching at the Le Mars School District in Le Mars, IA.
Marriage:
Mary and her husband grew up together and knew each other since they were just little kids. They got married in 1963 in Ashton where they had 2 boys and 1 girl. After they got married they moved to Balaton,MN where her husband was a farmer and she taught at Balaton School District. She now has 8 grandkids and many little great grandkids!
Work Life:
After college Mary continued to teach. She taught Intermediate Elementary for 12 years then moved to Hutchinson, MN and worked at HTI (Hutchinson Technology Inc) for 20 years. She enjoyed working as a teacher and as a trainer. She trained people into different departments at HTI and really enjoyed it! After HTI, she worked at By Face by Lake Lillian and that was her last job.
Retirement:
Mary retired in 2000 and moved back to Ashton, IA and lived there for 15 years. Then she moved to Willmar for 3 years and then made her way back to Hutchinson. She enjoys swimming and exercising! She also enjoys spending time with her grandkids, playing cards, and reading books. When she retired, she did a lot of traveling! She traveled to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and many more places (Those were just her favorites)!
Woodstone:
Mary moved into Woodstone Active Living in April of 2022. She moved here to be closer with her family and friends! She also moved here because maintaining a house and yard was becoming a lot to keep up. “I really enjoy the companionship here and I really like all of the kind people I have met here”, Mary mentioned. She enjoys all of the freedom you get here but also the activities they host.
We enjoy having Mary a part of our Woodstone family! She is so sweet and loving to others!
Best,
McKenna Monahan
Marketing Specialist