Mary Hushka

Mary Hushka, 94, Dickinson, died Saturday, January 1, 2005, at St. Luke?s Home, Dickinson. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a. m. Wednesday, January 5, 2005, at St. Joseph?s Catholic Church, Dickinson, with the Fr. Dennis Schafer, celebrating. Interment will be in St. Patrick?s Cemetery, Dickinson. Visitation will be held 12 noon to 9 p. m. , Tuesday, January 4, 2005 at Price-Murphy Funeral Home with a rosary and prayer service at 8 p. m. Mary Fritsch was born September 22, 1910 to John an Elizabeth (Foley) Fritsch in Burke County, near the town of Lignite, ND, where she attended public school. She attended the school of nursing at St. Alexius in Bismarck, ND, graduating in 1933. Upon graduation, she worked briefly at St. Joseph?s Hospital in Minot, ND and then took a job in Rochester, MN, where she worked for five years before returning to St. Alexius. She wasn?t there long before she decided that public health was her field, and she enrolled at the University of Minnesota to pursue that course. Soon after graduation in 1940, she moved to Manning, ND to take on the job of county nurse. There followed many years of ministering to the needs of the school children of the county and the needs of the elderly and the isolated ill. She visited 80 schools in the county at least once a year. Mary Hushka served the people of Dunn County well and in doing so, touched the lives of many people. We are too often unconscious of the good our people in the public health field accomplish. The immunization clinics carried on as part of the public health program have done much to reduce the incidence of once dreaded diseases. Pioneers in the public field such as Mary have worked with little recognition but have accomplished much in making this a better place to live. Mary served as county nurse for 32 years. She retired after an active life in this field in 1972. Mary Fritsch married Joseph Hushka in 1943 and they lived in Manning, ND. They had one adopted daughter, Mary Jo Carrington. Mary Jo died of cancer in 1979. Mary and Joe cared for their granddaughter, Barbara Carrington. Mary is survived by: one granddaughter, Barbara Carrington van de Werken; Lake Elmo, Minn; two great-grandsons, a sister, Bessie Fowler, Fort Myers, FL, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe and daughter, Mary Jo, two brothers and her parents.


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Burial Date: January 5, 2005
Funeral Home Dickinson, ND

Funeral Mass: Wednesday, St. Joseph Catholic Church