Mary Shupe, 75, of St. James passed away on Sunday, June 26, 2022, at Oak Terrace Assisted Living in North Mankato.
 Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Friday, July 1, at Sturm Funeral Home in St. James with Rev. David Lick officiating. Visitation will be Friday at the funeral home from noon until service time.
 Burial will follow at Mt. Hope Cemetery in St. James.
 Memorials may be directed to the Watonwan County Food Shelf.
 You may send the family condolences online at www.sturmfh.com.
 Arrangements are with Sturm Funeral Home in St. James.
 Mary Elizabeth Smith was born on July 19, 1946, at Wadena, the daughter of LeRoy (Tom) and Barbara (Colson) Smith. Mary graduated from St. James High School and with honors from the Minnesota School of Business in June 1968.
 Mary worked at a variety of places. Most notably her time spent at the Pentagon, years as a member of the Board of Directors of S-T Industries and her many years of service to First Presbyterian Church in St. James as secretary and Clerk of Session. Her time at the church brought her into contact with many people in need and opened opportunities to also serve on the Food Shelf Board and serve as contact person for the local Salvation Army. During those years, not much happened at the church without Mary being involved. It was well known throughout town that if you were in need of help “Mary at First Presbyterian” was the person to see. These opportunities brought out the caregiver in Mary. A trait that would stay with her even through the fog of dementia.
 When she wasn’t taking care of others, Mary loved to read, sing and was known to take some time to watch Tom Selleck on the Blue Bloods tv show. In later years she found puzzle books and started doing a lot of journaling. Through it all one thing remained, her love of music. Especially The Oak Ridge Boys. She attended many concerts and collected many t-shirts. Their music brought an energy and spark to her that few things could.
 Mary is survived by her children: Mike (Mary) Shupe, Thomas Shupe and Amy Shupe all of St. James; a sister Margaret Smith of St. James; grandchildren: Derrick (Yari), Odell and Isabella. Mary had a special relationship with Tatyana, Devon, Adrianna, Lilyanna, Jocelyn, Isabella and Mateo Aguilar. She was preceded in death by her parents and her grandparents.