Cloudy, 27° F
(June 3, 2005)
Memorial services were held Monday, June 6 in Ipswich, S.D., for Mary C. (Baer) Uttenhove, former Powell resident, who died Friday, June 3 at the Beverly Health Care Center in Ipswich.
Father Tom Clement officiated at services. Private burial will be held later. Mary’s wishes were to be cremated.
She was born in Ipswich, S.D. on Feb. 5, 1924, to Leo J. Baer and Theresa (Schmidt) Baer. She was a triplet, one of 10 children. She attended school in Ipswich where she met Arthur Uttenhove. They were married Nov. 21, 1941, at Holy Cross Church in Ipswich.
They lived on Art’s family farm near Mina, S.D., for a number of years. They eventually sold the farm and lived in Ipswich and then in Rapid City, S.D. for a short time. During this time, four children were born.
They moved back to Ipswich in 1951 and then to Powell in 1957. They returned to Ipswich in 2000 and moved into the Beverly Health Care Center together.
During her lifetime, Mary held many jobs. She worked as a painter, a waitress, a bartender, and in her later years, she worked at the Powell Tribune mail room. She operated Granny’s Babysitting Service for 15 years with the help of her husband, caring for over 100 children through the years. She and Art also became foster parents in Wyoming. She was also a 4-H leader in Ipswich and a lifetime member of the American Legion Auxiliary.
She loved yard sales, collecting, eating Art’s garden vegetables, doing search-a-word puzzles and putting together jigsaw puzzles.
Survivors include her husband Art; two sons, Jim (Diane) Uttenhove of Ipswich and Terry (Linda) Uttenhove of Douglas; a daughter, Mary K. (Wayne) Erickson of Jena, La.; six grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Sebastian (Ruth) Baer of Hot Springs, S.D., and Leo (Shirley) Baer of Vaughn, Mont.; two sisters, Ann Binfet of Leola, S.D., and Rosina Greenlee of Rushville, Ill.
She was preceded in death by two brothers, Stan Baer and Peter Baer; four sisters, Catherine Semmler and Elizabeth Baer (her triplets), Josephine Cihak and Veronica Gisi; a baby daughter, Patricia, and a grandson, Robert Uttenhove.
