Mary Josephine Anderson

Mary Anderson, nee Rassman, 73, of Kasson MN passed away in her home on Sunday, Oct 21st 2012. Our mother, grandmother, mother-in-law, aunt, sister and friend was born in Cresco, Iowa on January 21, 1939 and grew up there and on a farm near Owatonna, MN with her 7 siblings. She attended Owatonna High School and graduated in 1957. She met Ron Anderson while attending nurses college in Rochester and they married on May 2, 1959. Mary started as a home-maker raising the 4 sons she and Ron brought into the world, and she also worked as editor of the Pine Island Record, for Pine Plating in Pine Island, for the city of Pine Island, and as a telephone operator. Mary was intelligent, creative, kind and sensitive. She was a bit of a grammar snob and very much a tomboy. She loved to work with her hands and make things. People visiting her pictures-of-grandchildren-filled house in Kasson would have little idea that the basement housed a full wood-working shop. She was extremely compassionate toward the suffering of others. She loved fishing, going to the casino with her sisters and time spent with good friends. Her children and grandchildren were the pride of her life. Her christmas cookies and cheesy broccoli were beyond compare. Mary is survived by her sons Russ, Craig, Gary and Scott, by her grandchildren Nate, Alexa, Noah, Matthew and Nicholas, and by her siblings Gene, Betty, Gordy, Loretta and Bob. Mary was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Wayne and Allan. Memorial services will be held 1 PM Sunday, November 4, 2012 at Ranfranz & Vine Funeral Homes Chapel, 5421 Royal Place NW, Rochester, MN.Her family will receive friends beginning at Noon on Sunday at the funeral home.