Services for Mary Dove, 66, of St. Paul and formerly of Redwood Falls, will take place on Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at the Sunset Funeral and Cremation Association in Echo.  Visitation will from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

Mary Lee (Marquardt) Dove was born October 5, 1956, in the Redwood Falls Hospital to Milton and Dorothy (Truax) Marquardt. Mary was baptized and confirmed at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Vesta. She grew up on the home farm and graduated from Wabasso High School in 1974. 

Mary married Steve Moonen in 1982. Two sons, Jason, and Randall were born to this union. They divorced later. She met the love of her life, Mark Dove and they were married May 22, 2010. 

After working at Control Data, and as a home health nurse she found her calling in nursing home care. She was employed at several nursing homes before finding her forever home working at Gil-Mor Manor in Morgan. She worked there for 13 years as a TMA. People who reside there were not just clients, they were good friends. 

4-H held a prominent position in her life. In her youth she was in 4-H and won State Fair trips with dairy, knitting, sewing, and baking. She assisted her sons as they progressed through 10 years of poultry and rabbits. She was the Rabbit Barn Superintendent for many years. She continued to conduct the interviews of the rabbit showmen and select the most knowledgeable person to receive an award. 

Mary was looking forward to retirement in 2023, moving to Hastings to be near her sons and two grandsons and if time permitted, finding a part-time job in a flower shop. She seemed to have a green thumb when it came to flowers. Mary was also a collector of pink flamingoes and if you drove by her house, you would be fully aware of that. 

Her life came to end when she was diagnosed with undifferentiated uterine carcinoma cancer, a very fast-moving cancer. She started her downhill trip before her 66th birthday and succumbed to her death on November 12, 2022, at United Hospital in St. Paul. 

Mary Lee is survived by her husband, Mark Dove of Hastings; her sons, Jason Moonen and Randall (Sonia) Moonen and her grandsons, Xander and Xaden all of Farmington; her mother, Dorothy Marquardt of Vesta; her sister Kathy (Steve) Busack of Echo; her nieces Becky (Jermicus) Banks and their children, Emmerson and Jamison of Raleigh, NC; Jessica Busack of Sacred Heart; Brooke Busack and Joe Dambroten and their children, Rowdy, Ruger and Riverly of Sacred Heart; Morgan Busack of Sanborn, IA. brothers and sisters-in-law Steve (Mary Ann} Dove of Pepin, WI, and Kenley (Jennie) Dove of Venice, Italy. 

She was preceded in death by her father, Milton Marquardt, grandparents, Howard (Esther) Truax and Emil (Adella) Marquardt, her uncle and aunt Merle (Glorane) Truax, her aunt and uncle Delores (Karl} Seime and her cousin Patti Ann Brune.Arrangements with
Sunset Funeral & Cremation Association
Echo, Minnesota