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Mary ‘Fran’ Lupfer Obituary – 9/18/2019


Mary F. “Fran” Lupfer, age 96, of Litchfield, died Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019, at the Dassel Lakeview Ranch.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place Saturday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of St. Philip in Litchfield. Interment will be in the St. Gertrude’s Catholic Cemetery.

There will be visitation Friday, Oct. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Johnson-Hagglund Funeral Home in Litchfield, with a Daughter of Isabella Rosary and parish prayers at 7 p.m.

Visitation will continue Saturday one hour prior to the service at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lakeview Ranch in Dassel or St. Philip’s in Litchfield.

Mary Frances was born in Minneapolis May 11, 1923, and lived in Minnesota most of her life.

She grew up on a farm near Darwin with her parents, John and Gertrude Hannan; two brothers, and two sisters. Fran went to country school nearby, and later attended Litchfield High School, where she graduated at age 16.

After graduation, she attended a teachers’ college. Over the course of her working years, Fran taught in several country schools, and at St. Philip’s in Litchfield, where her children were students. She was also a teacher’s aide at both St. Philip’s and Wagner Elementary schools.

Fran spent many hours at the little country schoolhouse during the Meeker County Fair each summer, and organized reunions of the country school teachers in the area.

She moved to California as a young woman, and was ready for adventure. While living with her Uncle Ed and Aunt Marg in San Francisco, Fran worked as an insurance adjuster and a dictaphone operator.

After moving back to Minnesota, she married Norbert Schoolmeesters and they lived on a farm near Forest City. She and Norb had five children and worked hard on their dairy farm.

When Norb died at age 42, Fran moved to Litchfield. A few years later, she married Sam Lupfer and moved to the house on Swift Avenue that was her home for many years.

Fran loved to travel, starting with trips to California as a young woman. She went back to California to visit family many times, as well as other states, and even Germany.

She also loved to sew, embroider, and bake. She watched a lot of football, baseball, basketball, and softball games; piano recitals when her children were playing, and she loved watching the Twins play baseball.

Fran spent many hours volunteering at her church, and was the state president of the Daughters of Isabella.

She is survived by her sister, Kathy, of Rapid City, SD; her children, Mark (and Val) Schoolmeesters of Champlin; Nancy (and Armando) Morales of Oak Hill, VA; Paul (and Mary) Schoolmeesters of Minneapolis; David (and Nancy) Schoolmeesters of Lonsdale; and Mary (and Ken) Neu of Dassel; 19 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her first husband, Fran was preceded in death by her second husband, Samuel Lupfer; her parents, John and Gertrude Hannan; her brothers, Jim and Bill; her sister, Gert; and her step-son, Robert Lupfer.

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