Mary Ellen Neyens

Mary Ellen (Sullivan) Neyens was born on March 18, 1925, on the family farm near Russell to Samuel and Clara (Henkel) Sullivan. She attended and graduated from Russell High School in 1943. In that same year on October 19th, she was united in marriage to Harold Neyens at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Marshall. From 1948, the couple lived, farmed and raised nine children on Goose Lake near Russell. In later years, they enjoyed spending their winters at their home in Texas. Mary Ellen was dedicated to raising her family and partnering with Harold in running the farm. She had many interests and enjoyed sewing, crossword puzzles, stained-glass artwork and keeping in touch with all of her family through her letter-writing. She spent many hours in the kitchen lovingly nourishing her family. Breakfast was Mary's specialty, and she will be remembered for fresh hot pancakes, choke-cherry jelly and her chocolate chip cookies. She was resourceful, self-reliant and a steady hand and model for her whole family. After recently having a stroke, Mary Ellen passed away on Friday, September 4, 2015, peacefully and with grace, at the Divine Providence Nursing Home in Ivanhoe. She is survived by her children Gene (and Carol) Neyens of Maple Plain, Norma Wuttke of Mound, Joan (and Gary) Isenberg of Brookings, SD, Sandy Caskey of Appleton, MN, Diane (and Keith) Burckhardt of Russell, Tom (and Darlene) Neyens of Russell, 15 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. She was proceeded in death by her parents, husband Harold, sons Daren and Alan Neyens, daughter Patricia Nelson and her son-in-law Dr. George Nelson, son-in-law Loren Wuttke, three sisters, and three brothers.