Mary Lee Geerts

Mary Lee Geerts, age 77, passed away on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020 at Mercy One Medical Center in Mason City, Iowa, after a short illness.

Visitation was held from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020 at Conway-Markham Funeral Home in Elma and will continue at the church our prior to the funeral mass on Monday. We encourage those attending the visitation to ensure mask wearing and social distancing guidelines. Online condolences may be left at www.conway-markhamfh.com. Memorials may be directed to MercyOne New Hampton in Mary Lee’s name, www.mercyone.org/newhampton.

Mass of Christian Burial was held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 30, 2020 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church with Father Jerry Kopacek celebrating the mass. A private burial will be at Mt. Calvary Cemetery in Alta Vista, IA at a later date.

Mary Lee was born in New Hampton, Iowa, the daughter of Evelyn and Leo Hoffman. She grew up on their farm in rural North Washington, and graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic School, North Washington in 1961. After high school, she worked at a soda fountain and the New Hampton Newspaper.

While at a record hop in Alta Vista, Mary Lee met the love of her life, LeRoy. They were married on May 2, 1964 in North Washington. Mary Lee lived a rich, full life with her husband of 56 years, and helped him manage their farm near Colwell. She loved living in the house that they built there in 1981.

After her kids were in junior and senior high, Mary Lee returned to work as a secretary, and then worked in Customer Service at Solvay in Charles City for 10 years. Finally, she worked as an Administrative Assistant at MercyOne Medical Center in New Hampton for over 15 years until her retirement in 2012. She continued to volunteer at the Hospital until early 2020.

Mary Lee was the anchor and center of the universe to her family. She never stopped caring for and loving them unconditionally. She loved being a grandma to Lucas, who thought that “Grandma makes the best cookies ever.”  She lovingly cared for her husband and children, as well as caretaking her parents and close aunts and uncles in their later years. She was the consummate organizer and supported her children’s 4-H and school activities as a band parent and volunteered at numerous school activities.

She was very social, active and energetic all her life and was eager to learn new things. She learned to sew from her mother-in-law, decorated and sold cakes, learned computer skills and new technology, and recently taught herself to crochet. She loved cooking, baking, and searching for and trying new recipes. LeRoy always had to be quiet when “Mr. Food” and “America’s Test Kitchen” were on TV. She loved to maintain her garden and flowers, can vegetables from her garden, and feed humming birds in her yard.

Mary Lee was very active in St. Bernard’s church as a member of the Rosary Society, a CCD teacher, an ecumenical minister, and she sang in the church choir and volunteered for many years at the St. Patrick’s Pork Chop supper.

Mary Lee and LeRoy loved to socialize with their many friends. In the early years of their marriage, she enjoyed being part of card clubs as well as new adventures including snowmobiling, biking, fishing and camping trips, travel and dancing. They always enjoyed seeing old friends at Tuesday Burger Nights at Schucky’s in Alta Vista.

After their kids left home, Mary Lee and LeRoy started line and couple-country dancing. In 2019, they were contestants in the “Dancing with the Stars” fundraiser for MercyOne Medical Center. They made many cherished friends over the years and never stopped dancing.

Mary Lee also loved to travel with LeRoy and had many wonderful adventures with old and new friends. They enjoyed the bus trips where they could play cards on the bus and have “refreshments” in their hotel rooms. Some of their travels included a Pilgrimage to Rome, Venezuela, Hawaii, Mazatlán and Cozumel, Mexico,  Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon;  cruises to the  Panama Canal and Alaska; bus trips to Door County, WI, Nova Scotia, Canada, Washington DC, New Orleans, LA, Branson, MO, and numerous trips to visit friends and family in California, Colorado, Texas. Of course, they rarely missed the Clay County Fair and attended the Tulip Festival in 2019 with close friends. Mary Lee made sure they were constantly “on the go”.

Mary Lee is survived by her husband, LeRoy; two daughters,  Lisa Geerts, and Lori Geerts-Lyman (Randy) of Los Angeles; son, Larry Geerts (Flor), and grandson, Lucas, of Waverly, IA. Mary Lee had four step-grandchildren, Melissa and Nicole Muche, Kari Scoggins and Tobi Miller, and 2 step-great grandchildren, Karla and Teddy Miller.

Mary Lee was preceded in death by her son in infancy, Roger Joseph, parents, Leo and Evelyn Hoffman, mother and father-in-law, Paul and Helen Geerts, and her beloved aunts and uncles, Virgil and Mary Hilsman, and LaVerne and Kathleen “Shorty” Hilsman, as well as Hank, Joe, Emma, Lucy (Linkemyer), Frank, and Jack Hoffman.

Mary Lee was a sweet and generous soul, and will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved her. As a close friend told the family: “May she fly with the angels and dance with the stars.”