Mary Lou Prins
Memorial service for Mary Lou Prins, 82, was held at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 24, at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Springfield. Chaplain Noel Wetter officiated at the service, and interment was in the Jeffers City Cemetery.
Mrs. Prins died on Thursday, January 19, 2017, at Mayo Clinic Health System in Springfield.
Mary Lou Grunewald was born May 29, 1934, to Emil and Naomi (Radtke) Grunewald at Union Hospital in New Ulm. She lived on a farm in Germantown Township and attended country school there. Mary Lou graduated from Lamberton High School in 1952 and then from the University of Minnesota School of Practical Nursing. She worked for Worthington Hospital and then the Windom Hospital. On August 28, 1955, Mary Lou was united in marriage to Marvin Prins at St. John Lutheran Church in Germantown Township in rural Jeffers.
The couple moved to Mankato where Marvin attended college and she worked at Immanuel Hospital. Mary Lou and Marvin moved to Lake Wilson and raised their family, “The six M’s.” From 1972-1988, she worked again for the Windom Hospital while living on a farm near Jeffers. She worked side by side with her husband on the farm and drove the grain truck with many loads of corn to the Jeffers Elevator. Marvin and Mary Lou retired and moved to Springfield in 2001. She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Springfield where she was involved with the Rebecca Circle. Mary Lou moved to the Maples in 2013, where she enjoyed attending Bible study and other activities. She was also a former member of the Garden Club in Jeffers and the LPN group in Windom. Mary Lou enjoyed embroidery, traveling, reading, painting, watching westerns, shopping at Herberger’s with her grandson, Jared, and spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and attending their activities.
She is survived by her children, Mark (Teresa) Prins of Laurel, Mont., Michelle (Brian) Gatz of Granite Falls, Murray (Becky) Prins of Gig Harbor, Wash., and Marcia (Dan, Jr.) Dolezal; eight grandchildren; one step-grandchild; and seven grea-grandchildren. Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Marvin, in 2013; and granddaughter, Stacy Prins.
Sturm Funeral Home in Springfield assisted the family with funeral arrangements. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.sturmfh.com.