Mary Ellwein Guhin passed away on June 24, 2020, at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Mary Ellwein was born Sept. 22, 1948, at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Mary grew up in Sioux Falls, Worthington, Minnesota, and Rapid City, South Dakota. She graduated from Rapid City Central in 1965 and continued her education at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
In 1968 she married Clark Guhin.
Mary is survived by her husband, Clark, of Sioux Falls and two children, Greg Guhin (Nareena) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Shannon Bergan (Chad) of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and her sister Nancy Ellwein of Rapid City. She will be missed by her five grandchildren, Mia Bergan, Cole Bergan, Andrew Bergan, Turner Bergan, of Aberdeen, and Lucy Guhin of Tulsa. Other survivors include an army of Guhin brothers and sisters-in-law and her Ellwein cousins. Mary’s two dogs, Copper and Ike (the last good Republican) will be lost without her.
Mary will be remembered for her love of animals, skillful bridge play, and kindness to all who knew her. Her son once described her as “kind of nice and kind of dorky” to the mother of one of his teenage friends. Mary embraced this description and proudly lived with it the rest of her life.
Her grandchildren will miss her encouraging texts in support of all their academic and sports activities. She would need the occasional reminder that she was writing “texts” not “textbooks.”
Before she became ill, Mary worked for the city of Luverne, Minnesota, as an administrative assistant and city administrator. After a stint as city administrator, she moved on to be the executive director of Blue Mound Tower, a high rise for the elderly and people with disabilities in Luverne. Mary loved the job and the people at the Tower and was employed there until illness forced her to retire.
In compliance with Mary’s instructions, no funeral service is scheduled. A private family service will take place at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota, at a later date.
Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Lloyd and Arta Ellwein, father-in-law Francis Guhin, mother-in-law Marion Jean Guhin, and brother-in-law Todd Guhin.
The family would like to thank Patient Care EMS, Sioux Falls Fire Rescue, Sanford Emergency Room staff, ICU staff and the staff at Ava’s House for their kindness and professionalism.
Memorials in Mary’s name may be sent to the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society.
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