Mary Lee Utermohlen

Mary Lee Utermohlen, age 77, of Mankato, passed away on Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester after a three-month battle with cancer.

Funeral service will be 11:00 a.m., Friday, October 20, 2006 at Centenary United Methodist Church in Mankato, with Rev. Dean Wolf officiating. Visitation will be from 4-7 p.m. on Thursday at Mankato Mortuary, and will continue one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday. Marys body will be interred in Minneopa Cemetery, Mankato. Memorials are preferred to the Mankato Summit Center, to Centenary United Methodist Church, to Rust College.

Mary Lee Cox was born to Jerome and Dorothy (Disher) Cox on October 22, 1928 at Burchard, Nebraska. She graduated from Burchard High School in 1946. She then enrolled in the Lincoln School of Commerce. Upon graduation, she worked in several Lincoln businesses as either a secretary or bookkeeper. On May 24, 1953 she married C. Robert Utermohlen at her parents' home in Burchard. She and Bob became the parents of a son, Bill in 1954 and two daughters, Terry in 1956 and Kimberley in 1959. Mary and Bob lived in Idaho for two years before returning to Nebraska in 1955 with son, Bill. The family then lived in Kilgore, Hershey, O'Neill, and Lincoln. In August of 1968, the Utermohlen family left Nebraska and moved to Mankato, Minnesota where Mary and Bob have lived for the past 38 years.

In addition to being a wife and mother, she often worked outside the home. This income represented academic scholarships, first, for her husband, and then for each of her three children. In 1976, it was Mary's turn. She enrolled as a fulltime student at Mankato State University. She was awarded a baccalaureate degree in Open Studies with majors in accounting and gerontology in 1979. This background led to her employment with the Region Nine Area Agency on Aging. From there, she moved to the Summit Center, Mankato's senior center, where she served at its executive director from 1985 to 1992 when she retired.

Her primary interest had always been focused on her family and friends. Other interests have included travel, reading, spelling, and cross-stitching. A particularly rewarding experience was the three falls she spent as a visiting faculty member at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Mary had also been an active community member exemplified by her being named a Woman of Distinction in 1991 by the Mankato YWCA. This involvement included such activities as her memberships at Centenary United Methodist Church, the Mankato's Women's Club, the Preferred Stock Investment Club, and the Red Hat Society.

In addition to her husband, Bob, Mary is survived by her three children, Bill (Alison) Utermohlen of Alexandria, VA, Terry (Scott) Bunke of New Hope, and Kim (Paul) Scott of McKinney, TX; her nine grandchildren, Briannon, Kaitlin, Erinn, Noah, and Micah Scott, Mary Alison Utermohlen, and Ryan, Michaela, and Kendra Bunke; three brothers, George (Leone) Cox of Gothenburg, NE, Tom (Sandy) Cox of Brandon, FL, and Jerry Cox of Sacramento, CA. Mary was preceded in death by her parents.