|
Mary Ellen Anderson Fiebiger
December 1, 1945 - June 1, 2025
MARY ELLEN FIEBIGER, age 79 of Waseca, died on the morning of Sunday, June 1, 2025, at Foxdale in Waseca.
Mary was born in Mankato on December 1, 1945, to parents Alvin and Amanda (Schultz) Anderson. She attended school in Waseca and graduated from Waseca High School. Mary worked at the King Melody in Waseca after her schooling, and it was there that she met her future husband, William Fiebiger. They were married on January 27, 1968. She also worked at E.F. Johnson in Waseca for several years. Unfortunately, William died in 1982, and Mary needed to go to work to support her family. She took over her husband’s role at the Waseca VFW, and she continued in that role for over 40 years. As a thank you, the Waseca VFW Auxiliary made her an honorary lifetime member. Mary enjoyed playing bingo and cards, gardening, cooking and baking, and spending time with all her beloved family. In recent years she found a love of jigsaw puzzles. She was a long-time member of St. John Lutheran Church in Waseca and her children have fond memories of growing up in that congregation.
Mary is survived by four children, Michelle (Timothy) Johnson of Waseca, Charles (Angie) Fiebiger of Plover, WI, Dorie (Jody) Bluhm of Fifty Lakes, and Joel (River) Fiebiger of Waseca; ten grandchildren, Hailey Johnson, Linsey Schlaak, Blair Fiebiger, Brandon Fiebiger, Mariah Fiebiger, Tyler Dillon, Lindy Fiebiger, Noah Fiebiger, William Fiebiger, and Piper Fiebiger; one great-granddaughter, Everly Dillon; and two siblings, John Anderson of Waseca and Connie Jiroch of Waseca. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; and two siblings, Harlow Anderson and Joan Briley.
Visitation for Mary will be held from 3-5 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2025, at the Third Street Chapel of Dennis-Steffel-Omtvedt Funeral and Cremation Service in Waseca. A celebration of Mary’s life will then continue at the Waseca VFW beginning at 6:00 p.m. A private family interment will take place at Woodville Cemetery in Waseca.
|
LeAnn Johnson (Kugath)
Fiebiger retires after decades with Sweet-Sommers VFW
By JACOB STARK jstark@wasecacountynews.com
Mary Fiebiger has retired after decades as Sweet-Sommers VFW bartender and assistant manager. (Jacob Stark/Waseca County News)
Mary Fiebiger has seen a lot of change at Sweet-Sommers Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1642 in her decades working there, but one thing that stayed consistent was the friendliness and support of her coworkers and customers.
Fiebiger retired after over 40 years tending bar at the Elm Avenue establishment. Her coworkers and customers are sending her off with a retirement bash this weekend.
Fiebiger started working with the VFW, where her husband Bill worked as a bartender, as a waitress in the late '60s.
"That was my night out, to come up here and work," she said.
In 1981, Fiebiger began holding the job open for her husband, who had neuropathy of the spine due to diabetes. He died the following year.
"He started to feel good and came to work in September of 1982," Fiebiger said. "He worked that night, we had lunch and the next morning he was gone."
After her husband's death, Fiebiger received a lot of support from those she knew through the VFW.
"The guys up here were very good to me," she said. "They said if I needed anything, they were there … We used to have some old railroaders in here, and they were just terrific, especially after Bill died.
Fiebiger took on her husband's job as bartender and has also served as assistant manager in her time with the VFW. This has involved her doing things like ordering pull-tabs and liquor or helping someone who wants to book the hall.
When she first came to the VFW, Fiebiger says it was quite a smaller building than it is today, and she has seen it through some major changes over the years as the building expanded and the kitchen was moved around.
"We're not the biggest place, but we still host a lot of events," she said.
Through it all, her fondest memories have included interacting with people. In fact, in the decades she has spent as bartender at the VFW, she only recalls a couple people who have been rude or disruptive.
"I've made a lot of friends," she said. "A lot of them have passed away. That's the sad thing. When you work with World War II guys, you miss a lot of people through time."
After a recent urgent care visit for her hip, which she thought would need surgery, Fiebiger decided to call it quits.
"I didn't need surgery, but it's time," she said. "I've put in a lot of good years here."
A retirement party Saturday afternoon will honor those years.
"I don't like to be the center of attention," Fiebiger said when thinking about the upcoming party. "You'd think a bartender would like to be, because you're back there by yourself, but not all of us do."
Manager Michelle Kahnke, however, says that the recognition for Fiebiger is more than deserved.
"Mary would be what every employer could wish for in an employee," Kahnke said. "She certainly will be missed."
But Fiebiger isn't planning to close the book entirely on her time with the VFW. And the retirement party may not be the last time community members will see her at the bar.
"I'll still volunteer once in a while," she said. "Now that I know my hip is better, I told them I'll fill in if they can't get somebody to work."
For now, though, Fiebiger is thinking about her newfound free time.
"I have tons of things that have gotten neglected at home — rooms full of stuff that the kids have left," she said. "It's time to part with some things and make life easier."
Fiebiger, who has 10 grandchildren, used to sew and make clothes for the kids.
"I've had to give that up," she said. "It'll be fun just to sit back and do some stuff."
Whatever she ends up doing, she doesn't think she'll get bored.
"Some people do nothing after they retire," she said. "I plan on being active. I don't think my kids would let me sit around."
Gary Draheim
Sorry to hear about Mary. Have fond memeries of growing up with her.