Memorial services will be held 11:30 a.m., Sunday, May 28, 2023, at St. John's Lutheran Church outside of Hot Springs, SD.  Committal services will follow at Smithwick Cemetery near Smithwick, SD.

Mary Ellen Duennermann, 99, of Hot  Springs, SD passed away June 29, 2022,  at the Pine Hills Retirement Community  Center in Hot Springs.

Mary Ellen was born November 18,  1922, in Chadron, NE to Edward H. and  Ione C. (Schreckenghaust) Duennermann.  She grew up in Smithwick, South  Dakota, attending high school in Hot  Springs. She proudly lived a life of her  own choosing, filled with travel and  friendships around the world. One of her  first jobs was with the Pine Ridge Indian  Reservation BIA agency where she was  known as the "canhanpi wicinca" (sugar  girl) because she distributed the sugar  rations. Later, she worked with the  Morenci Mine in SE Arizona, quite a  change for a ranch girl from rural South  Dakota. Following this she was employed  by the US State Department, stationed in  Romania until the end of World War II.  While there, she traveled throughout  Europe, as well as the Middle East  leading to many adventurous travels  around the globe throughout her life. She  was fearlessly independent and built a  successful tax-consulting business in  Denver, Colorado, specializing in the oil  and gas industries. This was during the  times when few women had acquired the  training and sheer nerve to work in a  position typically occupied by men. It  was that unconventional liberation and  obstinacy her friends and family so  greatly admired throughout her long life.

Mary Ellen was active in many local  clubs and volunteer organizations, as well  as St. John's Lutheran Church.

Mary Ellen is survived by her nieces and  nephews Dianne (Ross) Bowen, David  (Sue) Wilhelm, Jacqueline (Ron Langlois) Wilhelm, James Wilhelm,  Kathleen (Eddie) Smith, Deborah (Bruce  Bilodeau) Wechsler, Perry (Julie Duncan)  Wechsler, and Rebecca (John) Oertel.  Also surviving are cousins Stu (Karen)  Marty, Billy (Susan), Evan and Martha  Jolitz and Roxy (Jerry) Anderson.

She was preceded in death by her parents  Edward and Ione Duennermann and two  sisters Louann (Len) Wilhelm, Michigan  and Carol (Jay) Wechsler, New Mexico.

A celebration of her life is being planned  for next Memorial Day.