Mary Engel

Mary Roessel Engel, 88, Bismarck, ND, died on August 4, 2017, at her home with family members by her side.A memorial celebrating the life of Mary Roessel Engel will be held at the United Church of Christ, 1200 E. Highland Acres Road, Bismarck, ND, on Saturday, October 21, 2017, at 3:00 pm.She grew up in Webster Groves, MO, and graduated from Macalester College, St. Paul, MN, with a double major in Spanish and Russian Studies. She met Austin (Jim) Engel at Macalester and they married in 1950. They began a family while he was in Yale Divinity School and continued to grow the family while living in Slayton, TX, and then New Town and Parshall, ND, where Austin ministered on the Fort Berthold Reservation.Five boys made for a full station wagon when exploring the country side and making annual summer trips to Ely, MN, to spend time at Aspen Lodge, a cabin built in 1925 by Mary’s father and where she spent her summers as a child. It is from there that Mary and Jim launched their honeymoon canoe trip into the Boundary Waters of N. Minnesota. Aspen Lodge was the center of the universe for the extended families of the Roessel’s, Noah’s, Brownell’s and Engel’s. It is a place where parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters, in-laws, cousins, grandchildren and great-grandchildren gather to this day. She never missed spending part of a summer there in all her years. She made sure a love of the north woods was a part of her boy’s lives and this has been passed down. As the last surviving child of Robert and Rita Roessel she became the matriarch of Aspen Lodge and was often called “Granmary” by the younger generations.   The family moved from Parshall to Bismarck in 1965. In 1973 she earned her state teaching certificate from Mary College but she began her career as a Spanish teacher at Bismarck High School even sooner due to the need for foreign language teachers. She was an active part of the Bismarck Public Schools Foreign Language Department and she was much loved by her students and fellow teachers. She was caring, creative, outspoken, innovative and unconventional. In 1983 she was awarded the July Gold Award for her many civic, religious and educational activities. She had great empathy, generosity, tact and patience for her students that were in academic or emotional trouble. She was an outstanding teacher and unofficial counselor of many Latin American students spending a year in Bismarck. Her home became a “home away from home” for many of them. She loved learning the many nuances of Spanish from them as much as they valued her help with English and understanding a new culture. Mary was also a volunteer Spanish interpreter with local police and government agencies. She was a volunteer with the Awareness House and Charles Hall Youth Services. She was active in church as a Sunday school teacher, a confirmation “Listener”, and a chaperone/organizer for youth trips as well as a leader in adult study groups. She retired from teaching High School Spanish after 15 years and then went on to earn a Masters in teaching English as a Second Language, ESL, (now English Language Learners, ELL) at UND, Grand Forks, where her husband was attending Law School. In 1986 she began working for the North Dakota Adult Learning Center, working with diverse groups of refugees and immigrants settling in North Dakota via agencies such as Lutheran Social Services. She worked for ALC for over a decade and continued being involved in many ways as a volunteer after retiring. A typical year at the ALC might involve 60 adult students from as many as 9 different countries, each with their own background and life accomplishments but now needing to learn English, not the easiest language in the world. They were very fortunate to meet Mary. She was tireless in her efforts to address the needs of so many learners at different levels and eventually compiled a book, Kitchen-Tested ELL Games and Activities, that was published in 2013. The title is testament to Mary’s hands-on approach to education. Beyond teaching English to her students she was very involved in helping them with other skills needed to become self-supporting citizens in their new country, things like how to bank, shop, budget, complete forms, make appointments and take driving and citizenship tests. Not to mention being a personal taxi service when needed and remembering birthdays with treats and songs. It is extraordinary the number of lives she touched and how important and loved she was by so many.Mary was dedicated to her husband and family of five boys. She was as adept at cooking over a campfire as a kitchen stove during the many family camping trips, whether a long weekend on the Missouri River with the family pontoon boat or weeks-long Christmas camping trips to warmer climates such as California, Mexico and Florida.Mary will be remembered for her personal warmth, her love of language (an avid crossword puzzle fan she had an amazing vocabulary and understanding of grammar), her direct communication, her creativity, and her sense of humor. She had a sincere interest in helping others that she demonstrated throughout her life. Along with her husband she was active in North Dakota liberal politics and environmental concerns as well as youth and adult church activities. She was outspoken about what she believed in and wrote frequent letters to the editor. She loved a good laugh, books (mysteries and travel books were always on her night stand) poetry, movies and music. Favorite pastimes included boating with family and friends to various sandbars on the Missouri River where all types of shenanigans ensued, visiting with friends, sunbathing, cocktail hour (Jim Beam on the rocks, thank you), watching the evening news report, and reading.Mary is survived by her children, Michael, St. Paul, MN, Peter, Craig, CO, Paul, Evanston, WI, and Steven, Hillsboro, OR: daughters-in-law, Marta, Soldier’s Grove, WI, Wendy, Minneapolis, MN, Sybil, Minneapolis, MN, Mary Kaye, Evansville, WI, Renee, Craig, CO, and Joan, Denver, CO; 11 loving grandchildren, Jon, Daniel, Jed, Samuel, Trevor, Miles, Olivia, Joshua, Noah, Tobiah and Lillian and 11 great-grandchildren, Oliver, Kyra, Adelaide, Zoey, Austin, Otto, Yasmani, Gus, Wyatt, Rafael and Ellis. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 58 years, Austin; a son, David (65); brother, Robert Roessel, Jr.; and two sisters, Rita Roessel Noah and Betsy Roessel Brownell.