Mary Frances Roder

Mary Roder of Remsen, Iowa, died Thursday, December 19, 2024, at Happy Siesta Healthcare Center in Remsen, just six days after her beloved husband Richard. She was 88 years old.

Mass of Christian Burial for Mary and her husband, Richard W. Roder, will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday, December 23, 2024, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Remsen with Rev. Timothy Pick presiding and Deacon Doug Heeren assisting. Burial will follow at St. Mary's Cemetery. Visitation with family present will be 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, there will be a K of C / COF Rosary and vigil prayer service at 5:00 p.m. all at Fisch Funeral Home & Monument in Remsen. Visitation will resume Monday morning at the funeral home from 9:30 to 10:15. There will be a live-stream of the vigil prayer service and funeral at www.fischfh.com.

Mary Frances Stoffel was born June 23, 1936, in rural Le Mars, Iowa, to Alex and Mary (Neubrand) Stoffel. She was baptized at St. Catherine’s Church in Oyens and graduated from St. Mary’s High School in 1954. She attended National Business College in Sioux City and started her career with the attorney (and later judge) James P. Kelley. She then worked income tax preparation for area attorneys in Remsen for 47 years, notably for Phillip Parriott and Knudson & Brady Law Firm, retiring in 2004.

She married Dick Roder on November 9, 1957, at her home parish of St. Catherine’s Church in Oyens. They farmed and raised their children northwest of Remsen. Mary was an active member of St. Mary’s Parish in Remsen, an officer in the Christian Mother’s Society, including three terms as President, an officer of the Catholic Daughters of America, including Grand Regent for two terms. She served on the Diocesan Board of the Council of Catholic Women. She answered many calls for service at St. Mary’s Parish, including teaching CCD, reader at Mass, and welcoming new families with her signature style. She had a deep devotion to the

Holy Rosary and spent many hours in prayerful support of the people she loved. She spent an equal number of hours playing cards with friends, including coordinating the 4th Monday Pinochle at the VFW until 2022.

Dick and Mary retired to a new home in Remsen in 2003. Having turned the cooking and baking over to Dick, to the relief of many, Mary dove into her favorite pastimes. She loved crocheting and sewing. She was a talented writer and a longtime freelance columnist for the Le Mars Daily Sentinel. Her column, “Musings with Mary” captured her humorous adventures and downhome insights. She was published in several other periodicals, including Our Iowa Magazine, Country Woman, and Capper’s Weekly. Everyone who knew her well learned to choose what they disclosed to Mary with discretion, for fear of it finding its way into one of her published stories.

Mary’s creative spirit animated the Roder household rituals and gatherings. She brightened the lives of those she loved with skits, sing-alongs, games, and Christmas plays. She will be remembered forever as a doting wife, mother and grandmother. Each of her 25 grandchildren felt uniquely and individually loved, regardless of miles that separated them. The great- grandchildren were the icing on the cake, giving her a whole new outlet for her crocheted creations.

She is survived by her offspring; Ann (Mark) Fox of Colwich, Kansas; Deacon Rick (Wendy) of Remsen; Dean (Ellen) of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Glenn (Amy) of Remsen; Brian (Kate) of Kansas City, Missouri; Brad of Lenexa, Kansas; and Michelle (Joe Halaiko) of Milwaukee; 25 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren; sister Margaret (George) Landgraf; brother Robert (Sharon) Stoffel; brother-in-law Dennis Schemmel; and sisters-in-law Stasia Stoffel, Helen Roder, Betty Roder and many nieces and nephews.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Earl; sisters, Lois Stoffel and Sister Joan Stoffel; father- and mother-in-law, Al and Sylvia (Klein) Roder; brothers-in-law, Lloyd Roeder, Merlyn Klein, and Gerald, Jim, and Paul Roder; sisters-in-law, Clarice Roder, Pat Stoffel, Janice Klein and Karen Schemmel; niece Julie Roder and nephew Michael Roder. Along with her husband, she mourned the loss of many beloved friends, notably Father Paul Eisele.

Casket bearers for Mary are Allison (Fox) Scott, Amanda (Roder) Johnson, Zachary Roder, Ellie Roder, Molly (Roder) Pollema, Marykate Roder, and Tate Roder.

Dick, Mary and their family would greatly appreciate Masses for the living and deceased of the Dick and Mary Roder family. Other memorial funds will be distributed at a later date to causes dear to them.