Watch Mary's Memorial Mass

Mary Magdelene (Nirschl) Babler, 87 of Olivia, Minnesota died peacefully on November 27, 2022 surrounded by her family.

Mary was born on July 5, 1935 to Carl and Amalia "Mollie" (Wallnofer) Nirschl at home in Ada, Minnesota, the eighth child of nine. She attended school in Ada until the 8th grade when she then attended Mount St. Benedict Academy in Crookston, graduating with the Class of 1953. After graduating she moved to Pittsburgh, PA and did secretarial work for three years. In 1956 she returned home to Ada and worked at the Ada National Bank. On July 8, 1957, she was united in marriage to Richard Arlen Babler. After their wedding, Richard was transferred to the Army base in Columbus, GA and they then returned to Minnesota in March of 1958 when he was discharged. They moved to Borup and started raising their first five children: Bruce, Kathy, Peter, Lynette and Rhonda. In 1968, she and Richard moved the family to Perham where she worked at FPA and the Chevrolet dealer. There the sixth child Lisa was born.  In 1976, Richard was transferred for work to Park Rapids and there Mary worked at Thielen Motors and later was a home daycare provider. The seventh child, Heidi was born there. In 1987, they moved to Roosevelt aka Lake of the Woods where she worked at Marvin Windows in Warroad until her retirement. They lived there 27 years. In 2015 they moved to Olivia where she joined the Mission Quilters at the Catholic Church. Mary loved gardening, knitting, crocheting, cross stitch, quilting and baking. Over the years she made many special baby blankets, graduation quilts, cross-stitched towels and pillowcases for many family members and friends. With her cooking, she had many recipes that she made including: pickles, Christmas cookies, pickled fish, her delicious homemade chicken noodle soup (with homemade noodles) and rhubarb bars. These are just a few of them. But her greatest love was her family and friends.

Mary is survived by her children: Bruce Babler, Kathy Olson, Peter (Amy) Babler, Lynn Stander, Rhonda (Tom) Grover, Lisa Babler, and Heidi Babler; 18 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; her sister, Peggy (Pat); brother, Phillip; and her brother- and sister-in-law, Vince (LaVonne) Babler; along with many relatives and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Richard (2021), brothers: Anton (Kathleen), Herman (Gloria), Richard, Francis (Katherine), Robert (Janice) and Farrel; mother- and father-in-law, Elvin and Myrtle Babler; in-laws: Helen (Sarg) Sargent; Ruth (Skip) Herringer, Gerald (Butch) Babler and her son-in-law, Ben Olson.

A Memorial Service will be held at 2 p.m. on December 15, 2022 at Traditions, 603 E. Fairview Ave. in Olivia, MN. There will be a Funeral Mass held on Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 2 p.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Ada, MN, with visitation prior to the service beginning at 12:30 p.m. Inurnment will be held at the Ada Cemetery following the service.