MARY ELLEN BOTTORFF TJOSSEM
May 7, 1936 – September 10, 2020
Mary Ellen Bottorff Tjossem, age 84, of Primghar IA, passed away on September 10, 2020 at Prairie View Healthcare in Sanborn, IA.
Mary Ellen was born to Rex William and Helen Carlson Bottorff on May 7, 1936 in Pomona, California and grew up in Harcourt, Iowa. She graduated from Harcourt Consolidated School in 1954 and completed her three-year nurse’s training at Iowa Methodist Hospital/Drake University in Des Moines in 1957. She met Galen Robert Tjossem while they were both working at Iowa Methodist Hospital and they were united in marriage February 23, 1958 at the Harcourt United Methodist Church. They made their home on the farm outside Primghar, IA where they raised their 3 sons. Mary Ellen worked as a nurse at the Hartley Memorial Hospital.
Mary Ellen was extremely involved in the Paullina Friends Meeting and Peace Links. She was an avid quilter and spent many Thursdays with her beloved quilting group at Mapleside.
She will be remembered for her light-hearted spirit, her quick laugh, her sense of humor, her never-ending energy, her wonderful hugs, and her ready support. She was known for her cooking and her awesome pies, cookies and cinnamon rolls.
She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Galen, her sons, Mark of Primghar, Bruce (Barbara) of Richfield MN and Steven (Christine) of Minneapolis MN; her 3 grandchildren, Kari of New York NY, Kyle (fiancé Ashle) of Brooklyn Park MN and Hanna of Minneapolis MN; her sister, Louise Opheim of Stuart IA, her brother, Dan (Susan) of Westfield NJ, her sister-in-law, Eunice of Ann Arbor MI and her nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Ralph.
Alzeheimers Poem.docx [drive.google.com]
Bruce Eulogy.docx [drive.google.com]