Mary Graf

Mary Graf, age 95, of Amboy, passed away Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2020, at the Mapleton Community Home. A mass of Christian burial will be Saturday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Vernon Center with Fr. Andrew Vogel officiating. Visitation will be one hour before the service. Burial will be at St. Matthew’s Catholic Cemetery.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, those that are not able to attend are encouraged to leave condolences for the family and view the livestream on the day of the service at www.spencerowen.com

Mary Charleen was born Aug. 22, 1925, to Charles and Mary (Caldwell) Leffel in rural Amboy. The youngest of seven, she attended country school and graduated from Amboy High School in 1943. She then went on to attend Mankato Commercial College and returned to Amboy to work for Boesch Insurance Agency. Mary met and then married Lyle Johnson on July 13, 1947, and he passed away on Feb. 4, 1954. On Oct. 15, 1955, she married Robert Graf. They were blessed with their only child, Jerry, on August 3, 1956.

Mary and Bob ran their furniture business, Graf’s Home Furnishings, together for many years. She thoroughly enjoyed helping their customers decorate, and keeping all the local ladies up to date on the latest furnishings and décor while having coffee or going to lunches. She also enjoyed traveling all around the U.S., especially to Branson, Mo. Those who really knew Mary, also knew she had a very giving, albeit private side to her. She was always lending a hand to those in need, whether it be those less fortunate during the holidays or just offering a listening ear to help brighten someone’s day. She also enjoyed flower gardening and had quite the Barbie collection that she and Bob would often use to set up themes at the Christmas Wonderland in Amboy.

Those left to cherish such wonderful memories are her son Jerry (Sandy) Graf of Amboy, grand-daughters Crystal (Mark) Hardinger of Cedar Rapids, IA and Callie (Stephen) Pien of Farmington Hills, MI and her two great-grandsons, Hudson Hardinger and Will Pien.

She is preceded in death by her parents, husband Lyle, husband Robert, 5 sisters and 1 brother.