Mary Penner

Mary Ann Penner, 87, of Mountain Lake, and beloved sister, aunt, friend, and teacher, passed away peacefully at the Good Samaritan Village on Monday, December 22, 2025.

Funeral will be 10:30 am, Tuesday, December 30, 2025, at Cornerstone Bible Church in Mountain Lake with visitation one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be at Cornerstone Cemetery in Mountain Lake. Arrangements are with the Sturm Funeral Home in Mountain Lake. Online Condolences may be left for the family at Sturm Funeral Home.

Mary’s life was lived with quiet strength, moxie, fierce independence, good humor, high standards, and enduring love for teaching, children, cats, and chocolate. Her friends and family were of utmost importance to her, second only to her faith. She lived a quiet, big life.

Mary was born at the Bethel Hospital on April 2, 1938, to Anna (Peters) and Peter H. Penner of Mountain Lake, MN. She grew up on the family farm with her brothers, Bert (Gilbert) and Don (Donald), while missing her sister Kay who died during birth. She attended grade school at the Mountain Lake Christian School and high school at the Mountain Lake Public School. Mary could sling a hay bale as easily as driving her 64 ½ red Ford Mustang. Her parents believed in education and encouraged them to participate in the things that interested them. She attended, was baptized at, and became a member of the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church (Cornerstone).

She decided early on that she was uninterested in marriage. At the time, women’s career choices were limited. Nursing was out because she didn’t like blood. Education it was! She devoted herself to her studies at Grace Bible College in Omaha, NE and Mankato State College. After completing her degree in elementary education, she decided to teach in a way that suited her faith, love of travel and her commitment to missions. She packed her things up in a barrel and headed to Quito, Ecuador to teach at a school for missionary children.

After Mary returned to Minnesota, she taught at the Mountain Lake Christian School. She taught fourth grade in a classroom right off the gym, where she filled the lives of countless children with lessons on sentence structure and diagraming, math (with owl-shaped calculators, if you were good), world geography, spelling, Stamp Club, and more. The best part of fourth grade each year was when Miss Penner introduced the year’s pair of albino rat babies. Her classes learned to feed, hold, and care for them. One or two lucky students each year would get to adopt them as their own. Miss Penner believed in rewarding excellence, which was almost always done with chocolate and the occasional Skittle. She developed deep and lasting friendships with many of her MLCS colleagues. Jean Carpenter, a music teacher colleague, married her brother Gilbert and they went on to have a close friendship. Kathy (Schmidt) Penner, Hulda Kroeker, and Carolee Randall became dear to her. They, along with their friend Geraldine, shared a love of travel, good humor, chocolate, great food, pets, and their faith that lasted their lifetime.

After Miss Penner concluded her career at the Mountain Lake Christian School, she was welcomed as the teacher for the Elmendorf Hutterite Colony of Mountain Lake, MN. She was embraced by the community and her life was forever changed by the way her professional skills were acknowledged and respected. She enjoyed learning the culture, noting often it was similar to her own.

She spent a number of years as an ESL teacher, teaching the English language to many adult students. Mary’s first language was not English, so she had a gentleness for and understanding of what her students were working so hard to accomplish.

Miss Penner finished her career in education as a para at the Mountain Lake Public School, supporting Crystal (Brugman) Fast. She and Crystal formed a dynamic duo, developing a beautiful friendship built on mutual respect, humor, patience, and the belief that all children are capable of great things and deserve to be seen. They developed a closeness that came from sharing the hard, the wonderful, and the everyday moments. Crystal’s friendship was cherished by Mary for the rest of her life.

Mary was the best aunt, great aunt, and great-great aunt. She held, loved on, laughed with, and delighted in all the littles that life blessed her with. She never forgot a birthday and filled their lives with little touches of magic, such as her Rice Krispie birds nests at Easter and just the right stuffed animal that always seemed to be the favorite. She pretended not to notice that her stash of Pringles chips and Toaster Strudels always seemed to disappear when her nieces and nephews were around. Mary delighted in her expanding family, using her crochet skills to create just the right blanket for as many as she could.

There wasn’t much Mary couldn’t do. She taught herself how to upholster furniture, electrical repair, plumbing, carpentry, gardening, and proper care of her beloved Persians and other cats. She took pride in keeping her house in good order and never hesitated to pick up a hammer or paint brush as the need or inspiration hit. She was proud of her heritage and served as the Heritage Fair’s Spelling Bee teacher for many years.

Mary decided to move from her beloved house to The Lodge in 2021. It was a big adjustment, but one she was determined to make. She came to love her apartment and getting to know the other residents. To Mary’s consternation, her legs weakened to the point she needed physical therapy to regain strength. She agreed to a short stint at the Good Samaritan Village, which then became permanent after suffering from a stroke. While the stroke robbed her of her ability to speak easily, she was determined to regain as much as she could. Her efforts made it possible to communicate right up until the day before she passed.

Mary’s family wishes to thank all those who cared for Mary, including everyone at the Good Sam, The Lodge, and Avera Hospice. She was loved well and surrounded by people who became like family. We are also grateful for everyone who took a moment to visit her, send cards and flowers, lead worship and devotions, and pray for her. In Mary’s final days, her friends continued to encourage and love her well. Mary’s last meal of ice cream with a side of chocolate was with Kathy at her side and it was perfect.

Mary’s last days were some of her most courageous. She knew where she was going, yet acknowledged that the journey to get there was unknown. She drew strength from those who cared for and prayed with her, as well as her favorite scriptures and hymns of her faith. She was held in love and in her family’s arms as she entered eternity. Blessed be her memory.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Anna and Peter H. Penner; infant sister, Kay; sisters-in-law, Jean Carpenter Penner and Mary Lembke Penner; and nephew-in-law, Steven Smith.

Mary is survived by her brothers, Gilbert Penner of Mountain Lake, MN and Dr. Donald Penner of Perry, MI; nieces and nephews, Alison (Kevin) Penner Rahn, Gregory Penner, Jennifer Penner Smith, Karen Penner, and Mark Penner; great nieces and nephews, Jackson, Finnley, Bellamy, Kayanna (Gary), Annaka, Emmy, and Javon; and great-great niece, Sabine