Mary Patricia Lebeck

She was the daughter of Marion and Doris Palmer and was born on July 1, 1941, in Oskaloosa, Iowa. She was the oldest of five siblings. Mary Pat grew up in Central Iowa on a family farm about 6 miles from Montezuma, Iowa in the forties and fifties. Besides school activities, Mary Pat participated in church groups and 4-H. She graduated from Iowa State University in Child Development in 1963, and after 5 months in Europe on the International Farm Youth Exchange Program, she then returned to Iowa State to complete requirements for an elementary education degree. Her first year of teaching was in Cedar Rapids, IA, where she taught until her three sons were born.

Mary Pat met her future husband, John, as part of the International Farm Youth Exchange Program in New York City. They were married in 1965, and in the first 14 years of marriage moved five times for John’s work to Rockford, IL, Des Moines, IA, Milford, IL., Fairport, NY, and Cedar Rapids, IA. In 1979, an opportunity came to purchase a local newspaper in Stoughton, WI; from which Stoughton Newspapers Inc. was born. Mary Pat’s job at the newspaper was flexible enough that she was able to continue with her true passion of teaching part time and looking after her three boys. For the next 15-years, Mary Pat raised her three boys and was actively involved in Covenant Lutheran Church, PEO, the kids’ sports, and various other community activities.

In the mid-1990s, after selling Stoughton Newspapers Inc and being empty nesters, Mary Pat and John started the next chapter of their lives. They purchased a motor home and spent the next 9 months traveling the country while they decided what they wanted to do next. Upon returning to Wisconsin, Mary Pat worked at the Stoughton Public Library for the next 10 years. Her time with the library was filled with her passion for books and teaching. Upon retiring Mary Pat and John spent their winters in Phoenix. Eventually, they decided to consolidate into one home somewhere away from the cold Wisconsin winters. After 29 years of living in Stoughton, WI, they decided to move to Frisco, TX in 2008, where they would be closer to their eldest son, Mike, and his family.

In Frisco, Mary Pat was an active member of First Frisco Global Methodist Church and participated in numerous bible studies and was active in the Frisco Lakes community in various card groups, book clubs and PEO. During their time in Frisco, TX Mary Pat spent a lot of time traveling the world with John and visiting two of their sons and their families at various military postings around the country. Mary Pat was also a doting grandmother to all five of her grandchildren.

Mary Pat was proceeded in death by her mother and father as well as her sister, Nancy. She is survived by her husband John, sons Mike (Allison) of Richardson, TX, Steve (Julia) of Cheyenne, WY, Brian (Mandy) of Nashville, TN, her brother Fred of Nauvoo, IL, and her sisters Karen (Jim) of Jefferson, IA, and Kathy (Steve) of Coralville, IA, and five grandchildren.

The funeral will be held on January 22, 2023, 3:00 pm, at First Frisco Global Methodist Church, 7659 Preston Road, Frisco TX. The Rev. Mark Vowell, from the church, will officiate. The burial will be in Iowa later.