Mary Lorna Sokolowski

Mary Lorna was born June 3, 1924 in Clear Lake, South Dakota, the daughter of Joseph and Frances McKenna. Shortly after she was born, Joseph moved his family to his hometown of Storm Lake, Iowa. Mary Lorna received twelve years of education from St. Mary’s Catholic School. After graduating, she attended Buena Vista College in Storm Lake for one year before entering St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Sioux City, Iowa where she became a registered nurse. She worked one year at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Sioux City. She moved to Ashville, North Carolina with a friend from nursing school for further training. After working there several years, she moved to work at a New York City hospital, Flower on Fifth Avenue. From there, she moved to New Orleans, Louisiana to work at Charity Hospital, where she was a supervisor. While home visiting relatives, she met George Sokolowski and they were married on February 23, 1952. She spent the next sixty years on a farm north of Holstein Iowa. To their union, six children were born. Mary Lorna was a loving wife and caring mother to her children. She loved dancing to the sound of big band music, reading, playing cards and visiting with friends and family. She had a deep faith, and throughout her married life, was an active member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Holstein, Iowa. She taught religious education and was an Extra Ordinary Minister. She will be missed. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Bernardine and her husband Marion Belson, her brothers Joseph “Ort”, Robert and his wife Bonnie, Raphael and his wife Elaine, Donald, and Bernard “Cody”; nephews, Robert Belson and Robert McKenna, Jr. Mary Lorna is survived in death by her husband George of 61 years, sisters-in-law Zita McKenna, Kathleen McKenna, and Lee McKenna, her children and their spouses, Christine Titcomb of Holstein, Iowa, Elizabeth and Merritt Wiese of Omaha, Nebraska, Patrice Sokolowski of Omaha, Nebraska, Timothy and Pamela Sokolowski of Apopka, Florida, Jay and Irene Sokolowski of Loveland, Colorado, and Daniel and Diane Sokolowski of Clear Lake, Iowa; eleven grandchildren and their spouses, Jason and Jill Titcomb, Joseph Titcomb, Mona and Chris Whipps, Christopher and Brittney Titcomb, Michael and Kaleigh Wiese, Tiffany Beasley, Jesse Wiese, Olivia Wiese, Alex, Erik, Connor, Ella Sokolowski; four great-grand children, Wyatt, Caleb, Fiona Whipps, Maisy Titcomb, Kyndle Beasley and many nieces and nephews, including Sue Belson, Don Belson, of Holstein, and Dan McKenna of West Des Moines, Iowa.