Mary Ellen Muchlinski

Mass of Christian Burial for Mary Muchlinski, 87, of Marshall, will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, September 22, 2025, at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Visitation will be held on Sunday, September 21, 2025, from 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. with a CCW Rosary at 4:00 p.m. and a Prayer Service at 6:00 p.m. at the Horvath Remembrance Center in Marshall. (family viewing available at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.) Visitation will continue on Monday from 9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. at the Remembrance Center. Interment will follow the service at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Marshall.

Mary Ellen (Spanton) Muchlinski was born on May 20, 1938, to Orval and Blanche (Knoben) Spanton in Marshall. She attended St. Edward Catholic School in Minneota and graduated from Minneota High School in 1956. Mary participated in many school activities, such as cheerleading, band, choir, speech and the school paper. She then attended college at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. Mary graduated in 1960, then pursued graduate school at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. Mary returned to Minnesota to teach, first in Austin, then in Minneota. Mary and Jim Muchlinski were married on August 22, 1964, at St. Edward Catholic Church in Minneota. They purchased their home on Marguerite Ave in Marshall in 1965. They started a family with son Jim in 1967 and daughter Beth in 1971. Mary was a homemaker when her children were young. She began to substitute teach on a part time basis in the mid-1970s. She returned to the classroom full time in 1979, teaching junior high English at Holy Redeemer School. She was hired in 1985 as Marshall’s Junior High Counselor. Mary received Minnesota’s Junior High Counselor of the Year Award in 1993. She and Jim retired in 1999. In retirement, Mary volunteered for the Holy Redeemer Church funeral lunch committee, Holy Redeemer food stand at the Lyon County Fair, and for Prairie Home Hospice. She and Jim operated an antique business, selling most of their inventory in Lake Benton. They traveled to Tahiti, Alaska, New Orleans, Gettysburg, Washington D.C., Colorado, and Texas. In 2018, they moved from their home to Boulder Estates. Jim died in 2019. Mary faced dementia with courage later in life. She moved from Boulder Estates to Boulder Creek in 2022, and into the Lockwood House in 2024. Her enjoyments in life included antiques, watching sports, golf, crossword puzzles, holiday baking, container gardening, her birthday club, and spending time with family.

Mary died on Sunday, September 14, 2025, at the Prairie Home Hospice Lockwood House in Marshall. Survivors include her son Jim Muchlinski of Marshall, daughter Beth (Mike) Reisbig of Omaha, NE, three grandchildren: Madeline Reisbig of Lincoln, NE, Maggie Reisbig of Lincoln, NE, and Jack Reisbig of Omaha, NE; sister Julie (Dale) Goos of New Braunfels, TX; brother Doug (Lois) Spanton of Minneota; brother-in-law Tom (Ethel) Muchlinski of Plymouth; sisters-in-law Paulette Spanton of Shakopee, Rose Muchlinski of Plymouth, and Mary Kelly of Richfield; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Jim, brother John Spanton, and two brothers-in-law John Muchlinski and Tom Kelly.

Memorials preferred to the Muchlinski Scholarship at the Pride in the Tiger Foundation, Prairie Home Hospice, or Holy Redeemer School.