Mary Jane Holleran, 78, Mankato, formerly of Luverne, died Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, at the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato.
A funeral Mass will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. Burial will be in St. Catherine Catholic Cemetery in Luverne.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the RCO of Luverne.
Mary Jane Holleran was born April 18, 1944, to Roland and Anna (Leicher) Hollaren in Chicago, Illinois. Due to a high fever as a toddler, Mary Jane became developmentally delayed. She started school with the Luverne class of 1963 and stayed in school until she was 16 years old.
After school, Mary Jane spent her time with numerous community activities. She attended most high school sporting events and was an encouraging bystander for the local bowling leagues. She could frequently be found at community activities, as well as in the front pew of St. Catherine Catholic Church.
Her one great hobby was ceramics, and most friends and acquaintances were the recipients of her labors.
In the late 1970s, the State of Minnesota decided that Mary Jane qualified for a new jobs program that had been created for people with her unique talent and skills. She was moved to Mankato where she has resided since. Mary Jane came home on weekends and for special events until her mother died in 2005.
Mary Jane is survived by her sister, Anne Holleran McPartland, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, her brother, Patrick Hollaren, Maryland; two nieces, Renee Ladd, St. Paul, and Laura Hollaren, Luverne; and a nephew, Gregg Ladd, Minneapolis.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Phillip Hollaren.
Arrangements are provided by Dingmann Funeral Home of Luverne, dingmannandsons.com.
(1222 F)