Mary Jean (Klatt) ZILLER

ZILLER, KLATT, CUNNINGHAM, WATSON, POTTHOFF, STEWART, LANG

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 3/28/2011 at 21:20:42

March 28, 2011
Mason City Globe Gazette - Iowa

July 22, 1936 --- March 25, 2011

BELMOND, IA — Mary Jean Ziller, age 74, of Belmond, passed away Friday, March 25, 2011, at the Muse Norris Hospice Inpatient Unit in Mason City. A Mass of Christian Burial for Mary Jean Ziller will be held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 30, at the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Belmond. Father Nils Hernandez will officiate. Burial will take place in the St. Francis Cemetery near Belmond. Visitation for Mary Jean Ziller will be held from 5- 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, at the Dugger Funeral Home, 111 Luick’s Lane S. in Belmond. There will be no viewing at the church on Wednesday. A parish rosary will be held at 4:30 p.m. and a Scriptural wake service with a time of sharing will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Dugger Funeral Home.

Mary Jean was born July 22, 1936, in Dougherty, to Glen and Fran (Cunningham) Klatt. She attended various country schools, graduating in 1954 from St. Joseph High School in Mason City. She then attended Hamilton Business College and obtained a job working with Standard Oil Company in Mason City and later in Des Moines. In February of 1959 she wed the love of her life, Lawrence (Joe) Ziller. They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary together two years ago.

Mary loved reading, collecting recipes, cooking and baking. A family favorite was “Mom’s Brownies.” Some of Mary’s favorite things were enjoying nature, listening to the birds and the smell of lilacs and other flowers in the spring. She especially enjoyed making the holidays special for her family, particularly Thanksgiving and Christmas. She enjoyed attending plays, concerts and her grandchildren’s various activities. Her greatest joy in life was her children and grandchildren. She was a long-time member of the St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and belonged to the Rosary Society.

Mary is survived by her loving husband, Joe Ziller of Belmond; five children, Lori (Andrew) Watson of Portland, Ore., Linda (Jeff) Stewart of Iowa City, Jean Potthoff of Clive, Robert (Nickie) Ziller of Rochester, Minn., and Steve Ziller of Belmond; nine grandchildren, Malaika Watson, Jared, Ryan and Rachel Stewart, Austin Potthoff, Andrew, Matthew and Claire Ziller and Sloan Ziller; a brother, Bob (Phyllis) Klatt of Eagan, Minn.; a sister, Margaret (Jack) Lang of Mason City; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Glen and Fran Klatt, and a brother, Jerry Klatt. Dugger Funeral Home, Belmond.