Mary Louise Hughes

Mary Louise Stofer Springer Hughes, age 82, was born October 1, 1934 to Claude and Mary (Miller) Stofer in Cooper, Iowa. She was the youngest of nine children. Mary passed away September 22, 2017 at the New Homestead in Guthrie Center, Iowa. She was educated in Cooper in the Franklin Township school district. Mary played basketball, sang in choir, and was a baton twirler during her high school years. She was a member of the Cooper United Methodist Church and was baptized into the Christian faith at the Greenbrier United Methodist Church of rural Bagley. She was married to Harold E. Springer on December 23, 1953 and five children were born to this union. Debra (Paul) Jensen of Forest City, IA, Craig Springer of Spirit Lake, IA, Paul Springer, Raymond (Kimberley) Springer of Des Moines, IA, and Julie (Kevin) Kipp of Yale, IA. Mary loved her family. She especially loved getting together during the holidays and playing cribbage with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She enjoyed watching professional tennis, golf, NBA basketball, and figure skating. Mary loved bowling at the bowling alley in Guthrie Center for many years, and went to the women's state bowling tournament multiple times. Later in life she enjoyed spending part of the winters with her sister and brother-in-law, Arliss and Kenneth "June" Buttler , in Yuma, AZ. Every year in the month of June she looked forward to attending the Stofer family reunion and getting to see her extended family members. Mary worked as a daycare provider, nurse's aide, and waitress, held manufacturing positions in Jefferson, Waukee, and Des Moines, and retired from Sunny Fresh Foods in Panora, IA. She was briefly married to Larry Hughes of Scranton, IA and enjoyed spending time with grandchildren Courtney and Cody Hughes. Mary is survived by four of her children and their spouses and grandchildren Jason (Melanie) Slater, Amy (Aaron) Clark, Matthew Slater, Dr. Marisa (Ryan McEldowney) Jensen, Justin (Meg) Bauer, Blake Springer and Brody Springer. Great grandchildren Madeline Slater, Brandon Leber, Evelyn Slater, Avery, Austin, and Ayla Jane Clark. Sister and brother-in-law Arliss and Kenneth "June" Buttler of Guthrie Center, IA, sister-in-law Florence Siegenthaler of Jefferson, IA, and sister-in-law Mary Esther Springer of Northwood, IA. Numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by her son Paul Douglas Springer, her parents, brothers Donald (Dorothy) Stofer, Ronald (Joan) Stofer, Kenneth (Rita) Stofer, Richard (Mary Esther) Stofer, Harold "Pete" Stofer, sisters Thelma Guess and Patsy Dowd, three siblings in infancy, sister-in-law Rose Stofer, nephews Kirk Stofer and John Guess, niece Linda Valentine, and great nieces Jennifer Stofer, Jennifer Dowd, and Heather Havens. Memorials in Mary's name may be mailed to Hastings Funeral Home in Jefferson for her family's later distribution.