Mary C. Bottum, age 94, of Edina, Minnesota, formerly of Wessington and Mitchell, passed away Sunday, May 3, 2020 at her home.

A private burial was held in the Wessington Cemetery.

Mary Carol Bottum was born to Stewart and Hazel (Charlesworth) Bottum on December 7, 1925, at Wessington, South Dakota, where she grew up midst the town's population of 492. She participated in most of the school, church, and social activities prevalent in a small town. Mary graduated from Wessington High School in 1943. She continued her education at Huron College to earn a Bachelor's degree in 1947.

Mary began her career as a teacher of Music and History at Jeffers, Minnesota from 1947 to 1949, before she relocated to Sioux Falls to teach Music for one year. In 1950, she accepted a clerical position for General Mills, Inc. at Minneapolis, Minnesota. After a year, Mary worked for Houston Fearless Corp. of Los Angeles, California and Douglas Aircraft of Santa Monica, California. After two years, she returned to Minneapolis in 1953 as a clerk for Minneapolis War Memorial Blood Bank. In 1955, Mary began her 31-year career at an advertising agency as an Administrative Assistant at D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Inc. She retired in 1986.

Mary was a member of Mount Olivet Lutheran Church of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

She is survived by her sister-in-law, Betty Bottum of Sioux Falls; cousins, Donald Bottum of Tulare, Richard Bottum of Tulare, David (Thelma) Bottum of Roscoe, Illinois, and one step-niece, Lisa Garcia and her husband, Jesse, of Fairfax, Virginia; one step-nephew, Jeff Ketelhut and his wife, Janelle, of Sioux Falls; and her friend, Audrey Sherman of Edina, Minnesota.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Roger Bottum; and cousins, Bruce Bottum, Geraldine (Bottum) Kasin, Alice (Bottum) Kaye, Mildred (Bottum) Trongard, Edward Bottum, Delbert Bottum, and John Bottum.