Posted Online: 2008-08-12

Mary Pletsch

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Mary J. Pletsch, 84, formerly of Tampico, died Monday, Aug. 11, 2008, at the Walnut Manor Nursing Home, Walnut, Ill.

Funeral services will be conducted at 10 a.m. on Thursday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Tampico, with the Rev. Louis Tosto, officiating. Burial will be at St. Mary's Cemetery, Tampico. Visitation will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. today at St. Mary's Catholic Church, with a scripture service at 7:30 p.m. at the church. A memorial has been established in her memory. Arrangements were completed by Garland Funeral Home, Tampico.

Mary was born on March 26, 1924, in Olwein, Iowa, the daughter of Fred J. and Mary Edith Gestel Heeren. She was united in marriage to Oscar T. Pletsch in Tampico on Feb. 7, 1945, and he preceded her in death on Nov. 3, 1995.

She was a beautician for many years in the Prophetstown and Tampico area and was very active with the Ronald Reagan Museum and the Tampico Library as well as the WA-TAN-YE Club and the Altar and Rosary Society of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Tampico of which she was a lifetime member. She enjoyed doing crafts and sewing quilts and was a very active woman in the community.

She baked many items for people of which her cinnamon rolls were just about everyone's favorite along with her angel food cakes baked from scratch.

She is survived by eight children, Elizabeth VanLanduit, Tampico, Jim Pletsch and Nadine, Hooker, Okla., Gary Pletsch, Pittsburgh, Pa., Connie De Maranville, Geneseo, David (Lola) Pletsch, Sterling, Ill., Debbie (Robert) Define, Lake St. Louis, Mo., Diane (Barry) DeJarnatt, Sterling, Dan (Vicky) Pletsch, Normal, Ill.; 15 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren, plus two due in February; six sisters, Ila Lewis, Cordova, Tenn., Priscilla Shelton, Rochelle, Ill., Mavis (Robert) Garland, Tucson, Ariz., Clara Dobbeke, Deer Grove, Ill., Velma Zimmerman, Rochelle, Ill., Emma (Troy) Jones, Wynne, Ark.; three brothers, Francis G. "Bud" (Mildred) Heeren, Sierra Vista, Ariz., Norman P. "Butch" (Rita Jean) Heeren, Galt, Ill., Donald A. (Delores) Heeren, Rock Falls, Ill.; one sister-in-law, Rita Heeren, Princeton, Ill.; and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; and one brother, Fred William "Pete" Heeren.

Condolences may be sent to www.garlandfuneralhome.com.