Mary Mohatt

     Mary Lou Mason Mohatt, age 87, passed away on July 21, 2017, at Brookestone View Care Center in Broken Bow, NE.        Mary Lou Mason was born October 26, 1929, on the John Hothem homestead north of Sumner, Custer County, Nebraska.  Her parents were Harvey LeGrande Mason and Fern B. Hothem Mason.        Mary and her family lived on the Hothem homestead until 1931 when they moved to the Frank Wood Ranch north of Sumner, living there until 1937 when they moved to the Round Hill community south of Broken Bow.  Mary attended Round Hill School through 10th grade, then graduated from Broken Bow High School with the Class of 1946.        Mary and William Xavier Mohatt were united in marriage at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Broken Bow on June 6, 1950, and were blessed with three loving children:  Judith Anne, Michael Charles, and Jeanne Marie.  Mary and Bill celebrated nearly 60 years of marriage before his death in November 2009.        After graduation, Mary worked for a short time for Dudley Insurance Agency, then worked four years as secretary to long time Custer County Sheriff R. G. Fox.  In 1960, Mary was appointed Deputy Clerk of the District Court for Custer County and in 1975 she was appointed Clerk of the District Court by the County Board.  She was also elected to three 4-year terms of office before retiring in 1991 after 30 years.  During her time in office, Mary was privileged to have served under six District Court Judges:  The Honorables E. G. Reed, S. S. Sidner, William F. Manasil, Earl C. Johnson, James R. Kelly, and Ronald D. Olberding, and with the attorneys of the Custer County Bar and around the State.        Mary was baptized a member of the Baptist Church as a child, then converted and received the Sacraments of the Catholic Church on Christmas Eve, 1953.  She has continued to cherish that Faith and be a faithful member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Broken Bow.        Mary was a member of St. Joseph Altar Society; Life member of the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars; member of the American Legion Auxiliary, BPO Does in Broken Bow, and Charles Trumbull Hayden Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Tempe, Arizona.  Mary served as Lector, Eucharistic Minister, and partner on St. Joseph’s prayer chain for many years.  As a member of the VFW Auxiliary, Mary served on the District and local levels as President, Sr. Vice President, Chaplain, and Secretary and also as local Treasurer for thirty-five years.        Mary always enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren and the Holub and Mohatt families.  Mary and Bill were privileged to have traveled to many states around the United States, both coasts, Mexico, and Canada.  Special trips were to upstate New York, Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., and many of the Civil War battlefields.  Also enjoyable were the visits to Colorado and the Rockies, all of Nebraska, and the Battery C reunions with Bill and his World War II comrades and wives.        In 2003, Mary and Bill moved to Liberty Square Apartments at the Melham Medical Center complex.  In 2016, Mary moved to Brookestone View Care Center.        Mary was preceded in death by her parents, beloved husband Bill, and daughter Jeanne Marie.  Surviving are daughter and son-in-law Judy and Howard Person of Littleton, CO; son and daughter-in-law Mike and Connie Mohatt of Omaha, NE; grandchildren Tara Mohatt Benson and husband Scott and their children Alexandra, Blake, and Chase of Lincoln, NE, Sean Mohatt and wife Reena and their children Cooper and Carly of Omaha, NE, and Manie Person Lease and husband E.J. and their children Anna, Isaiah, Elizabeth, and Abigail of Aurora, CO; sister Geraldine Holub of Spring Valley, IL; sisters-in-law Joan Hammond of Houston, TX, and Alta Mohatt of Lincoln, NE; brother-in-law Dillard Gates of Vancouver, WA; and many nephews, nieces, cousins and friends.    A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday July 25, 2017 at 10:30 AM  at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Broken Bow  with Father Jim Hunt officiating.  Burial will be in the St. Joseph Cemetery in Broken Bow with Govier Bros. Mortuary of Broken Bow in charge of arrangements.  A visitation will be held on Monday July 24, 2017, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Govier Brothers, and a rosary service will be held at 7:00 PM at St. Joseph Catholic Church on Monday evening.         Memorials may be directed to the Custer County Foundation for the Jeanne M. Mohatt Memorial Scholarship fund.