Mary Lou Hespe

Mary Lou Hespe, age 73 of Belle Fourche, died Saturday October 11th, 2008 surrounded by her loving family, at the Hospice Room in the Sturgis Area Hospital in Sturgis. The funeral service will be held 2pm Wednesday at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Belle Fourche, with Revs. Richard and Jeri Behringer officiating. Visitation will be held 4 to 7 pm Tuesday at Funeral Home of the Northern Hills in Belle Fourche, with a public prayer service at 7pm. Interment will be held in Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche. On April 13, 1935 Mary Lou was delivered by her grandma, Minnie Fink, to her loving family of Glenn W. and Mildred A. (Ernest) Fink in Mason, South Dakota. Mary Lou attended grade school at the Crow Butte School. The family then moved into Belle Fourche during the summer of 1946 where she attended the Belle Fourche schools, graduating in 1953. After graduation she went to Omaha, Nebraska where she attended Airline Communication School. Once she returned home to Belle Fourche she found work at American Colloid as a lab tech. She also worked at Bruggeman Electric and Modern Builders Supply for several years. On November 25, 1960 Mary Lou married the love of her life, Marion D. Hespe in Belle Fourche. Together they raised their one son, Mark Duaine, who also lives in Belle Fourche. While raising their son she worked at North (Gay) Park school as a food server for 13 years, retiring in 1990. Throughout these years she was an avid bowler whose team made it to the state bowling tournament, a member of the Belle Fourche Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary, and also served as treasurer of the South Dakota State Firefighters Auxiliary. Mary Lou and her family spent many summers in the Big Horn Mountains in Wyoming and Montana camping with the occasional hike and stop at a pond for fishing. During the winter they went to the Black Hills were they enjoyed snowmobiling with family and friends. In 1992, her husband retired from the Post Master position in Belle Fourche and this is when they began their adventures of traveling. They started going to Yuma, Arizona but then they began to find new locations to explore and the fun never seemed to stop. While “down South” Mary Lou and Marion made many new friends and created wonderful memories. After a short battle with cancer, she left her loved ones on October 11, 2008 at the Sturgis Regional Hospice center. Mary Lou is survived by her husband, Marion of Belle Fourche; son, Mark (Marilyn) Hespe of Belle Fourche; granddaughters, LaDawn and Katrina Hespe; brothers, Glenn (Jackie) Fink of Yuma AZ, Gary (Peggy) Fink of Davenport IA; numerous nieces and nephews. Memorials are preferred to the Northern Hills Hospice, First Cong. Church, B.F. Fire Department, and the Butte Badgers 4-H Club.