Mary K. Christensen

Mary K. Christensen, 93, of Marshalltown, Iowa, entered into eternal life on Friday, June 19th, 2026, at Glenwood Place Senior Living Center while under the loving care of their staff, her family and the Iowa River Hospice. Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 27th at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday June 26th, at the Mitchell Family Funeral Home where the family will be present to greet friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Burial will be in the Riverside Cemetery immediately following the funeral service. Lunch will be served immediately following the burial service at Mitchell Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Iowa River Hospice or Alzheimer’s Association.

Mary was born on March 4, 1933, in Manly, Iowa, the daughter of William J. and Elizabeth Shannon, and grew up in the area of her birth. When she was 11 her mother passed and she went to live with her grandmother in Mason City. After graduating from Holy Family High School, she worked at Standard Oil as a bookkeeper. She would meet her friends at a soda shop after work and there she met a cute “soda jerk,” Paul Christensen. On December 23, 1952, Mary and Paul were united in marriage. As Paul was in the Army, they ended up moving to New Jersey the day after their wedding. After a transfer to New Mexico and discharge from the Army, the couple settled in Ames, Iowa where Paul was attending Iowa State University. Mary became a mom while in Ames to both Kathy and Karen. Upon graduation they moved to Marshalltown when Paul started working at Fisher Governor Company (now Fisher Controls International). In Marshalltown, they added John to the family and Mary stayed home with the three kids and started her lifelong focus on volunteering. She was very active in her children’s activities, was President of the League of Women Voters, served on the board of Iowa River Hospice, and worked at campaign headquarters for several elections. Mary volunteered for 25 years at Iowa Senior Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP), winning two awards from the governor for her work. Mary always talked about how lucky she was and what a wonderful life she lived. She had the opportunity to travel the world and live overseas, and spend quality time with her friends, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She will be dearly missed by her children Kathy (Dale) Heinrichs of Marshalltown, Karen (Jeff) Stille of Peyton, CO, and John Christensen (Michelle Kuker) of Lincoln, Neb.; five grandchildren:, Shaena (Travis) McGivern of Oro Valley, AZ, Ben (Rachel) Heinrichs of Parkland, FL, Beth (Greg) Graham of Ft Calhoun, NE, Peyton (Darrin) Uden of Waverly, NE, and Cheyenne Kuker (Patrick Hitzemann) of Omaha, NE; nine beautiful great grandchildren; and numerous brothers and sisters. In eternal life, Mary joins Paul, her parents and stepmother Lillian Shannon, grandson Joshua Stille, and several siblings.