Mary Puls Kretzinger

Mary was born in 1930 in Lincoln, Illinois and grew up on a farm in Chestnut, IL. She attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse, then went on to Mt. Pulaski High School where she was Valedictorian of her class. She attended Washington University in St.Louis, receiving a degree in Nursing. It was there that she met and later married Richard J Puls who was in medical school. After graduation, they moved to Ohio for his internship in Internal Medicine and then to Chicago for his residency at Northwestern Medical School. During their time in Chicago, Mary worked as a nurse in a doctor’s office downtown. After Chicago, Mary and Richard settled in Dallas.

In Dallas, they had three children: Alan, Gloria, and Larry. Mary was an exceptionally talented artist, painting many pieces of beautiful art. Mary and Richard travelled extensively, going to Africa, China, and Europe. She was a skilled bridge player, and an active volunteer in PTA, the Dallas Woman’s Club and her church. Even though she was involved in church, it was during EXPO ’72, an evangelical conference sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ that she came to accept Jesus as her savior and really pursued and grew in her faith. Mary sold real estate for many years but then returned to nursing, working as a psychiatric nurse at Baylor Hospital. She often joked that her psych patients were much easier to control than her real estate clients. She also enrolled at SMU and received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA). Her thesis was on the Canterbury Tales.

In 1999, her husband Richard died of complications from heart surgery. In 2001, she married Ronald Kretzinger, a widower whom she had known for many years through church. They had a blissful year and a half together before Ron died from heart failure. In 2011, Mary moved to a retirement community in Greenville, SC near her youngest son and his family. She made many new friends and was involved in various dinner groups, bridge groups, and church Sunday school groups. As her health declined, she moved into assisted living and then on to memory care where she died. She was 95 years old.

Mary is preceded in death by her first husband, Dr. Richard John Puls, her second husband Ronald Kretzinger, her parents Helen Maude (nee Davis) and Edwin Carl Rentschler, and her brother John Edwin Rentschler. She is survived by her children Dr. Alan Richard Puls (Dr. Jane), Gloria Puls Gaschler (Gregory), and Dr. Larry Edwin Puls (Mary Ellen), 8 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, February 7, 2026, at Mitchell Road Presbyterian in Greenville, SC at 3:00 pm. A graveside service will be held at Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral Home, Hillcrest Memorial Park, in Dallas at a future date in February.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Mitchell Road Deacon’s Fund which benefits the poor or the charity of your choice.