Mary E. Flynn — of Red Wing

Mary E. Flynn, 86, of Red Wing, formerly of Wabasha, died of natural causes at her home on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

She was born April 15, 1927, in Payette, Idaho, the daughter of Galen and Wilma Bollinger. She graduated from school there and received an associate degree in floral design at a technical school nearby. She married Robert Flynn on June 5, 1956, in Payette. The family lived on Prairie Island, north of Red Wing. Mr. Flynn worked several years for Swift Meatpacking in South St. Paul and later Smeads Manufacturing in Hastings. Mary was a homemaker, and she also worked 14 years for Jostens in Red Wing. The couple retired in 1986. They moved to Sand Prairie, rural Wabasha, in 1996. Mr. Flynn died July 10, 1999.

Mary was a member of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Wabasha. She enjoyed gardening, traveling, feeding the birds and she especially loved family picnics and get-togethers.

She is survived by her children and their spouses, Michele and Melroy Hokanson, River Falls, Wis., DuWayne and Bonita Flynn, Plum City, Wis., and Melinda and Bryan Helmer, Red Wing; six grandchildren, Ben and Heather Hokanson, Shauna, Kyle and Ryan Flynn and Curtis Helmer; four great-grandchildren; sister, Violet Munt, Winston-Salem, N.C.; and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert; two brothers; her parents; and her friend later in life, Eugene McPhetres.

A funeral service will be Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013, at 11 a.m. at Grace Memorial Episcopal Church, with the Rev. Larry Green officiating. Interment will follow at Greenfield Cemetery in Kellogg. Casket bearers will be DuWayne, Kyle and Ryan Flynn, Ben Hokanson, Curtis Helmer and Carl 'Ole' Flynn. Family and friends may call at the church on Tuesday one hour before the service. The Abbott Funeral Home, of Wabasha, is in charge of arrangements. abbottfh.com.