Mary Freese

As Audrey Hepburn once said, “You have two hands. One to help yourself, and one to help others.” Mary Ann Freese of Clara City was a prime example of someone who took that quote to heart. Though she wasn’t quite as famous as Ms. Hepburn, she was known in our family as Aunt Mary-who would be there when someone needed her with a big dose of care and heart. Mary passed away at the Carris Health Therapy Suites in Willmar on the morning of July 20. She lived to the ripe age of 83 years and one day. Mary kept her promise to her niece Tammy to make it to her next birthday. She even stuck around until the next morning just to be sure. Mary lived the longest life of anyone in her family, which included her father (Heye), mother (Hilka DeGrote), and siblings: Simon, Heye Jr., Minnie, Florence, Harm, and Betty. She was born in Atwater, MN, on July 19, 1937. Mary grew up on a farm outside of Clara City, where she also attended country school. She was confirmed at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Clara City. Mary called Gluek, Maynard, and Clara City her home at one time or another during her life.
Caregiving was in Mary’s blood from day one. After she finished her schooling, she cared for her sister’s children, and her parents, plus she worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant and Medication Aide at both Granite Falls Hospital (15 years) and the Clara City Care Center (30 years). She retired in 2005 after caring for countless residents and working with a multitude of staff, including relatives.
Mary never married nor had children of her own. She always said she stayed single because she was too picky. Being picky just left more room in her heart for her nieces and nephews. She was our own “Mary Poppins,” and she had a grand time viewing that production at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre with Tammy. With her weakness for sweets, you could always find a stash of candy bars in her home, especially Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Besides being well known for her sweet tooth, she also had an unbelievable collection of knick-knacks ranging from countless salt and pepper shakers, to teacups, Precious Moment figurines, and bells-just to name a few. Each item triggered a memory and they were all displayed in her collection of curio cabinets. Mary loved her gravel road (and casino) adventures with her sister Betty, and travelling with family (Milo, Sharon, Betty, Harm, Geraldine) to places from Washington, DC, to Texas, and many states in between.
Mary lived a simple, yet full life. She would belly laugh and tell you she was “just teasing,” she gave warm hugs, and really didn’t like cold food (inside joke). She was generous to a fault. She literally kept every card she ever received-whether it be a birthday, get-well, Christmas, or even a Mother’s Day card, they were all boxed up for a reason I guess we won’t ever know.
She is survived by her sister-in-law Geraldine Freese, plus a host of nieces and nephews (and their families): Rick, Timothy, Tammy, Christy, and Jamey Freese, Mike, Daniel, and Randy Sietsema, Sharon Knutson, Dawn Spieser, Jerel and Lonnie Stenersen, David, Brian, and Robert Schroeder, and Laura Ross. Mary also cherished her many, many great nieces and nephews-too numerous to list, but not forgotten. She was greeted at heaven’s welcoming doors by her mother, father, all of her siblings, brothers-in-law Robert Schroeder, DeLos Sietsema, and Robert Stenersen, plus nieces Connie Schraugnagel and Barb Diers, and nephews Roger and Robert Stenersen, nephew-in-law John Speiser, and great-niece Jean (Knutson) Boyum. Enjoy a candy bar in her memory today, heck, make it two-you only live once.