Mary Springer

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 6, 2009

Mary J. Springer, age 92, of Blue Earth, died Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, at St. Luke’s Lutheran Care Center, Blue Earth. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church rural Blue Earth, with the Revs. Dale Kohrs and Karl Rydholm officiating. Burial will be in Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery, rural Blue Earth. Visitation time will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, at Patton Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 400 E. 14th St., in Blue Earth and one hour prior to services at the church. Web tributes may be left at www.pattonfh.com.
Mary was born Dec. 12, 1916, in Stephen, the daughter of Michael and Isabel (Smolkowski) Prezkwas. She attended Oak Ridge School in Northern Minnesota and lived in Strandquist. She later worked for Turbin Winjum near Albert Lea, where she met and married Herbert J. Springer on June 2, 1936, in Kenset, Iowa. She prepared dinner for the Green Giant Viner Crew when Herbert worked for them. Mary taught accordion lessons for several years and worked in a Blue Earth nursing home for seven years. Her next job was at Banquet Foods in Wells where she worked on the poultry processing line for 16 years. In 1970 the couple bought an acreage east of Blue Earth where they lived for many years. She had many beautiful flower and vegetable gardens there. She was a longtime member of Immanuel Lutheran Church where she was organist for 23 years. Mary retired in 1981 and spent time quilting, crocheting, tatting and raising many more beautiful gardens. She moved to Blue Earth in 1998.
Mary is survived by her three daughters: Jane (Lester) Brooks of Blue Earth, Joan (John) Frandle of Blue Earth and Helen (Rodney) Petersen of Blue Earth; sisters, Lucy Swenson of Viking, Angeline Nowacki of Alexandria, seven grandchildren, many great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband in 1993, two brothers, Martin and Lawrence Prezkwas; three sisters, Sophie Szczepanski, Theresa Nowacki and Josephine Prezkwas; and two great-grandchildren.