Mary Lou Leiphon

Mary Lou Leiphon, 86,

Minot, died Sunday, May

5, 2019 in her home.

Mary Lou was born

September 22, 1932 in

Williston, ND to Harold

and Lucille (Kinsella)

Mahanna. She called De-

vils Lake, ND home dur-

ing her youth. She gra-

duated from Devils Lake

High School in 1950.

She began work for

Ramsey County in the

coroner’s office in addi-

tion to serving as a tele-

phone operator for

Northwestern Bell Tele-

phone Company as a

young adult.

Mary Lou was united in

marriage to Joseph

Leiphon, who was the

love of her life, on July 16,

1953 in Devils Lake. They

moved to Minot later that

year and called the ‘Magic

City’ home for the rest of

their lives. They were

blessed with two children.

Mary Lou worked for JC

Penney for nearly a de-

cade and also first served

the Minot Symphony

Orchestra part-time until

assuming the role of

full-time business

manager until her retire-

ment late 1980’s. She was

a tax preparer at H&R

Block for several years

and managed the

SteenStrup Jewelry Store

located in the downtown

Ellison’s Department

Store. She spent six

weeks in Cincinnati, OH

where she took a grant

writing course and went

on to write grants for vari-

ous organizations. Joe

passed away on No-

vember 26, 2012.

Mary Lou was a

member of St. John’s

Catholic Church in Minot

and was active in the Con-

fraternity of Christian

Mothers. She was ap-

pointed by the Governor

to the North Central

Health Planning Council

and was Chairperson of

the Red Cross during the

transition to being known

as the Mid-Dakota

Chapter. Mary Lou was a

member of the Minot

Chamber Chorale its

board and spent 38 years

in service to the Salvation

Army Advisory Board.

When not in service to

others or her community,

Mary Lou enjoyed spend-

ing time with family and

friends, gardening and

reading a good book. She

was also a talented artist

and loved to entertain,

cook and bake often shar-

ing tasty Christmas

goodies with many dear

friends. She will be

missed deeply by all who

were blessed to share in

her life.

Mary Lou is survived

by: her daughter, Joan of

Minot, brothers William

(Alma) Mahanna, Rad-

cliffe, KY and Patrick

(Thelma) Mahanna, Mul-

berry, FL, Greg and Nancy

Fjeld and their family,

Debbie Bossert and her

family and canine com-

panion McKenzie, along

with numerous nieces and

nephews.

Mary Lou was preced-

ed in death by: her

parents, husband Joseph,

son Paul, an infant grand-

daughter, Lindsay, broth-

ers Robert and John

Mahanna and

sisters-in-law Inez Mahan-

na and Dolores Mahanna.

Graveside Service: 1:00

p.m. Wednesday, May 15,

2019 at Rosehill Memorial

Park in Minot.

Interment: Rosehill

Memorial Park, Minot.

Booksigning will be

held on Tuesday, May 14,

2019 from 3:00 p.m. until

6:00 p.m. at the Thomas

Family Funeral Home,

Minot.

Memorials are preferred

in lieu of flowers and

plants to the Minot

Chamber Chorale.

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomas

familyfuneralhome.com.