Mary Kay Vetter, 87, of Bowman, ND, formerly of Bismarck, ND went into the presence of the Lord on July 10, 2010 at the Southwest Healthcare Long Term Center in Bowman.

Funeral Services for Mary will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 15, 2010 at the Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Home Chapel. Fr. David Morman will officiate with burial to follow in the Bowman Cemetery. There will be a Rosary and Scripture Service on Wednesday, July 14, 2010 at the Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Home Chapel beginning at 7:00 p.m.

Mary Kay Hondl was born on October 9, 1922 to Frank and Mary (Simek) Hondl in Dickinson, ND. She was raised on the family farm and educated in Dickinson schools. Being the oldest daughter of a large family, Mary was responsible for working on the family farm as well as providing care for her younger siblings. Mary was united in marriage to Charles (Charlie) Ficek in Dickinson, ND. From this union came four children. Three daughters, two whom died as infants, and one son. Mary than later married Clarence (Otto) Vetter. Mary and Clarence primarily lived in Elgin and Mott throughout their marriage.

In Mary's lifetime she worked in a few occupations. She worked in the retail field, where she could outsell any sales person. She worked in the hospitality field, where she was always friendly and well liked. In her last position before retiring, Mary worked as an assistant at Hagen Jr. High School in Dickinson. However, the one job she worked the longest and hardest at was that of being a mother and homemaker. She truly enjoyed being a mother and she truly enjoyed keeping house. The years she spent raising her children were probably her most rewarding years….and challenging too. Mary took such pride in bringing her children up as well as maintaining a spotless and comfortable home, wherever that may have been. Not many women really enjoy cleaning house, but Mary did. Nothing gave her more satisfaction that seeing that her kids were clean as well as her home. She was tidy and neat, clean and orderly. Even her "junk drawer" was well organized. Her children would always laugh at that. How can a "junk drawer" be a "junk drawer" when all the "junk" was organized. Not only did Mary take pride in her children and her home, she took pride in her own personal appearance. Never would one see Mary looking like she just crawled out of bed. She always looked "like a million bucks". Her clothes would be stylish clean and pressed. Her hair would always be fixed and her make-up just right. In this day and age of permanent press, who would iron clothes? Mary did. Nothing looked better on her than a crisp, clean white blouse with creases in the sleeves. Mary's children were always so proud of the way their mother looked. Mary had a great love and such fond memories of her own mother. She would often tell her children that everything she was, was because of her mother, because of all the things she learned from her mother. One of the best things learned was the ability to cook. Mary was a fantastic cook. She loved to entertain and along with entertaining came cooking. Everyone always wanted to come to Mary's house because it was a well know fact that she was such a great cook. It would make her feel really good when she would cook a meal and then be able to share it with family and friends. And like Mary learned to cook from her mother, she passed on that love of cooking to her own children. In fact, it was Mary's love of cooking that influenced her son as well as her granddaughter to attend culinary school. It is a know fact that Mary's son has successfully cooked for huge crowds on numerous occasions. And of course, the food enjoyed the most were those handed down from generation to generation made from the "memory" rather than from a recipe card. No matter who Mary was cooking for, she did it with a lot of pride and an lot of love. One of the activities Mary enjoyed the most was dancing. She would go dancing every chance she got. And could she dance. She could dance a mean polka or a beautiful waltz like no other. Whether Mary was kicking up her heels or gliding gracefully across the floor, it was always such a joy to watch her dance. Some other things Mary enjoyed were playing cards and bingo. She always was up for a good challenge. Because Mary loved to socialize, these activities gave her the opportunity to be among friends, to visit with people she enjoyed. Mary was a storyteller. She loved to tell stories, especially about growing up on the farm and the "good ol' days". She was sharp as a tack and could remember things in such vivid detail. There were many a time that Mary would stay up all night with her children, even in the adult years, recalling her childhood and all her life's experiences. And if anyone ever wanted to know something about family history, Mary would be the one to go to. Even though Mary did not receive a full education, she was smart. She was always learning anything and everything. Mary craved knowledge and read whatever she could get her hands on. She stayed informed and was always on top of current events and global affairs. It was not uncommon for Mary to stay up into the wee hours of the morning reading a newspaper from front to back. Not just the obituaries or skimming the "specials". Somewhere along Mary's quest for knowledge she developed a deep passion. Who would have ever thought that a farm girl, with limited education would have developed a deep passion for politics. Well, Mary did. Politics fascinated her, and she engaged herself in everything there was to know about politics. What fascinated Mary most were the presidential elections. She would know their platforms and follow all the debates. While most women would be tuned into the food network channel or perhaps "Oprah", or their favorite "soaps", Mary's favorite channels on T.V. were CSPAN, Fox News and MSNBC. Because Mary was so well informed, she could "talk politics" with the best of them. And if any information was ever needed, Mary would be the "go to" person regarding politics. Other than Mary's love for her children and grandchildren, nothing would be more important to her than her faith, and what she believed in. Mary recalled the many times growing up when her family would get snowed in and could not get to town to go to church. But because her mother constructed a home-made altar, the family was able to gather together and have "church" at home. It was this kind of devotion and faithfulness that remained with Mary throughout her life, regardless of any hardships she may have encountered. Mary may have led a simple life, but in no way was she simple. She did not need a wall full of plaques or a shelf full of trophies as rewards for accomplishments in her life. Nor did Mary need acclamations or "kudos" publicly given. Even a paragraph here on all the clubs and associations she belonged to was not necessary. Her life was simply about integrity, righteousness and being just. She was all about being self-less rather than being selfish. Mary's life reflected that she was kind, caring, compassionate, loving, and giving. Sometimes to a fault. She was quick to forgive and had a knack for bringing a ray of sunshine into one's day, when it looked like the whole day was going to be filled with nothing but gloom. A simple "I love you" card would bring Mary more joy than a five hundred dollar gift. She had more love of family, God, and country than she did of money and fame, reflected in her faithfulness, in what she stood for, and in her pride of America and North Dakota too. No, Mary's life was not about plaques and trophies, nor about money and fame. Her life was about Mary simply being Mary. And for the family and friends who were privileged enough t have had Mary in their life, they were richly blessed. Mary may be gone now, but she will never be forgotten. Thank you for beautiful memories. Mary, may you now rest in peace.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Connie Jean (Allen) Perius of Bismarck, ND, her son, Clarry James (Darlene Ovitt) Ficek of Bowman, ND, granddaughter, Courtney April Ficek of Bismarck, grandson Landon James (Melody Lane) Ficek of Bismarck, sisters, Millie (Jerry) Perdaems of South Heart, ND, Lillian Kuchenski of Dickinson, ND, Fran (Mike) Friedt, Kingman, AZ, and brothers, Albert (Effie) Hondl of Dickinson, and Vince (Julie) Hondl of Dickinson, many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends also survive.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Mary (Simek) Hondl, two infant daughters, husband, Charles "Charlie" Ficek, her brothers Laudie Hondl (who was killed shortly before WWII end) and Frank (Ann) Hondl, her sisters, Elsie (Albert) Hibl, Pat (George) Stewart and an infant sister, one niece, one nephew and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

Krebsbach and Kulseth Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements.