Mary Lenora (Austin) Hallstrom
August 3, 1918 ~ November 1, 2017 (age 99) 99 Years OldClick here to view Mary's Memorial Service.
Mary Lenora (Austin) Hallstrom, 99, of Aberdeen, passed away Wednesday, November 1, 2017, at Groton Care and Rehabilitation Center in Groton, SD, with family at her side.
Her memorial service will be 1:30 p.m., Thursday, November 9, 2017, at Schriver’s Memorial Mortuary & Crematory, 414 5th Avenue NW, Aberdeen, with Pastor Kevin Bergeson officiating.
A luncheon immediately follows the service at Schriver’s Memorial Fellowship Center.
Interment will take place at a later date at Webster Cemetery in Webster, SD.
Visitation will be one hour before the service at the mortuary. Friends may sign Mary’s online guestbook and also view her service via the live stream service link at www.schriversmemorial.com.
Mary Lenora Austin was born August 3, 1918, to Melville (Lassiter) and Robert Lee Austin in Ozark, Arkansas. She graduated from Eudora, Arkansas high school and business college in Little Rock. Shortly after graduation, Mary took a secretarial job for the Department of Interior in Washington, D.C. While there, a notice was posted regarding employment opportunities with the Alaska Railroad in Anchorage. Ready for an adventure, Mary took the job and spent the next several years enjoying Alaska.
While living in Alaska, Mary met Eugene Frances Hallstrom, from Webster, SD, who was stationed in the Aleutian Islands with the Army. They were married in Anchorage on January 5, 1946. The couple intended to make their home in Alaska, but instead returned to South Dakota, living in Webster, Lemmon, and then Aberdeen for most of their lives, with many years spent at their cabin at Bass Beach on Pickerel Lake.
Mary was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend.
Grateful to have shared in Mary’s life are her son, Kenneth Hallstrom; daughter, Karla Hallstrom; and daughter-in-law, Peggy Hallstrom, all of Aberdeen; and two grandsons, Ryan Hallstrom of Farmington, MN and Jon (Shannon) Mann of Sand Point, Idaho.
Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Eugene, in 1980; her parents; her siblings, Robert Austin and Ruth (Harry) Barrow; and her sisters-in-law, Dodie (Hank) Jandl of Aberdeen and Putsy (Browny) Green of Webster.