Mary Bantle

Mary Ann Bantle, 84, died on Thursday, June 22, 2017 surrounded by her loving family at Brookdale Sterling House in La Crosse.
Mary was born on August 1, 1932 in La Crosse to Charles and Mary (Linhart) Kottmer, the 11th of 12 children. She attended Blessed Sacrament grade school and Aquinas High School, graduating in 1950. She married William “Bill” Bantle on February 1, 1954 in Waukon, IA and became a loving mother to his two sons. Together, their family grew with the births of another son and two daughters.
Mary lived her entire life in La Crosse. She lovingly raised the children, ran the household and managed the finances while Bill was working, commercial fishing and trapping. She was a wonderful cook and everything was made “from scratch”, often using fresh produce from Grandpa Ambrose’s garden.
Once all her children were in school, and with encouragement from Bill, Mary decided to further her education. She attended WWTI and received an associate degree in legal secretarial science in 1969 and worked for Rudy Schnurrer in his La Crosse law firm. She next took a position as a teaching assistant in the secretarial department of WWTI. Per Mary, “The encouragement and instruction I received from the staff and the backing of a very supportive spouse were the nudge I needed to pursue and earn a Bachelor’s degree in education (Winona State) in 1975.” She was then hired as an instructor at WWTI. She continued on to UW Stout to earn a Master’s degree in vocational rehabilitation in 1978. Mary taught at WWTI in the secretarial department for 24 years, retiring in 1994.
In retirement, Mary enjoyed spending more time with her family, especially her grandchildren.  She used her time to help many others. She befriended many elderly neighbors and relatives and visited, played cards, provided meals, organized their affairs, and helped with errands. She traveled the world with her friend Sue, most often on cruises. She was active in Holy Trinity Parish and organized and cooked for the funeral lunches for many years and was well known for her specialties, including “sticky buns”, rice pudding and homemade bread. She loved to feed a crowd.
Mary is survived by Bill, her loving husband of 63 years; three sons, Jim (Paula) of Onalaska, John (Rose) of La Crosse and Charlie (Trish) of Durand, WI; one daughter, Julie (Doug) Fiers of Waunakee, WI; one son in law, Ken Greene; twelve grandchildren, Rusty (Sandra) Bantle, Jenifer (Greg) Bantle-Felt, Melissa (Brian) Summerfield, Amy Bantle, Robert Bantle, Katie Bantle, Nick Bantle, Emily Greene, Elena Bantle, Ian Bantle, Will (Yang Li) Fiers and Elise Fiers; ten great-grandchildren,  Kyla, Carson, Jaymeson, Ayden, Nola, Devan, Lukas, Lily, Payton and River ; one brother, Paul Kottmer of St. Paul, MN; one sister in law, Cecelie (Peter) Kottmer of Georgetown, TX and several nieces and nephews.
Mary was preceded in death by her daughter Kathleen Greene; her parents Charles and Mary Kottmer; one sister Mildred Marsh and nine brothers, James, Thomas, Robert, John, Richard, Charles, Peter, Jerome and Max Kottmer (her twin).
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 1, at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1333 13th St. S., La Crosse. Father Lawrence Berger and Father Rick Roberts will officiate. Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. until the time of services. The Schumacher-Kish Funeral & Cremation Services of La Crosse are in charge of arrangements. Online guestbook is available at www.schumacher-kish.com .
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Mayo Clinic-Franciscan Healthcare or to UW Kids Cancer Fund.
Mary’s family would like to express a special thank you to the staff at Brookdale Sterling House where Mary resided for the past 11 years, to her friends who continued to visit her regularly and to Mayo Hospice for their compassionate care in recent months.