Mary Edith (Pope) Marxen passed peacefully at Newmarket Manor in Tisdale Saskatchewan on Sunday, July 28. She was 97.

Mary was born February 12, 1922 on a farm southeast of Tisdale to Virgil and Dorothy (Canfield) Pope. She attended Salopian School and then Tisdale High School where she graduated valedictorian of her class in 1939. During her school years she also cared for her younger siblings while her mother campaigned and became the CCF candidate for the federal constituency of Melfort. She married William “Bill” Marxen in 1941 about the same time as the rest of her family moved back to Janesville Wisconsin where her father’s ancestors were the first white settlers there. Mary and Bill had three children and made their home on a farm nine miles northeast of Porcupine Plain. They later spent fifteen years in Wisconsin near Mary’s relatives before moving back to live in Porcupine Plain. Bill passed away in 1990 leaving Mary to quickly adapt to living alone. She enjoyed a number of her later years with brother-in-law Jim Dauncey until he passed away in 2003. In 2013 she moved into the Porcupine Nursing Home and later to Newmarket Manor in Tisdale.

Mary was a proud mother and an exceptionally accomplished individual excelling in education, sports, music and much more. She created a wonderful environment for her family and was a good friend to all. Many will remember having coffee or tea and a lunch after each visit to her home. And she seldom missed a morning walk downtown Porcupine Plain to the coffee shop where she loved to sit in and enjoy some lively conversations with the locals.

Mary was active in various churches where she sang in the choir and regularly played the piano or organ both in Wisconsin and in Porcupine Plain.

Mary is survived by her children: Duane(Peggy)Marxen, Middleton Wisconsin; Carol(Percy)Yelland, Tisdale, Saskatchewan; and Dale(Vajdieh)Marxen, Sequim, Washington. Grandchildren: Edie(Ghobad)Naimi; Neil Yelland, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Chad(Crystal)Yelland, Tisdale, Saskatchewan; and Paul(Michelle)Mannino, Clinton Wisconsin; and eight great grandchildren; siblings, Shirley Thompson, Madison Wisconsin; and Darlene(Don)jPolzin, Des Moines, Iowa and sisters-in-law Mary Ellen Pope, Whitewater, Wisconsin and Sharryl Pope, Long Beach California.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Virgil and Dorothy(Canfield)Pope; her husband William G. Marxen; close friend, Jim Dauncey; and siblings, Jennie(Robert) Campbell, Alton, Illinois; Dorothy(Wayne)Smith, Janesville, Wisconsin; C.Donald Pope, Whitewater, Wisconsin; and Virgil Lindsay Pope, Long Beach, California.