Mary Ellen Fischer

Mary Ellen (Flynn) Fischer was born July 20, 1946, in Yankton, SD to Donald and Esther (Saugstad) Flynn of Irene, SD. She was baptized and confirmed at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Wakonda, SD. Mary Ellen graduated from Irene High School in 1964 and went on to attend Nettleton Business College in Sioux Falls.

In the summer of 1965 Mary Ellen traveled with friends to Groveland Park north of Tyndall, SD where she met her future husband Dennis Fischer of Tripp, SD. They were married on May 14, 1966, at the Frieden’s Reformed United Church of Christ in Tripp by Reverend Henry Roemer and settled on a farm southwest of Tripp. In 1973 Dennis and Mary moved to their farm that they lived on for fifty plus years. Together they raised their children Dennis Jr., Terry and Sherry.

Mary Ellen grew up a town girl, but she quickly learned how to be a farm wife and mother. She milked cows, raised and butchered chickens, ducks and geese, helped with the cattle and hogs and drove the grain trucks. There were also as many as 25 cats at a time with all of them having a name. When spring arrived, she made many trips to the local greenhouses to buy pots of flowers which she loved to watch grow.

In the busy years of working on the farm, Dennis and Mary Ellen sold Golden Harvest Seed and raised many cattle throughout the years. Mary Ellen was very organized with her bookkeeping skills and made sure every year that all tags for the cattle were written down and accounted for. She also had over 50 years of diaries documenting what happened every day on the farm. Mary Ellen loved to read books. No matter where she went, she had a book by her side and often didn’t go to bed until the early hours of the morning because she couldn’t put the book down. Mary Ellen was also a member of the American Legion Auxiliary for 33 years.

Mary Ellen also enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She especially loved having all the grandchildren come pick apples from the apple tree. The grandchildren always knew they could stop any time of the night for pancakes or a candy bar.

After numerous medical issues dealing with Alzheimer’s, Mary Ellen entered Bormann Manor in Parkston, SD, December 2022. She passed away on Monday, October 20, 2025, at the age of 79 years old.

Grateful for sharing her life are children: Dennis (Sherry) Fischer Jr., Terry (Sheri) Fischer and Sherry (John) Friman all of Tripp; grandchildren: Brittany (Brice) Zwak, Dustin (Jen) Fischer, Cody (Shelby) Fischer, Trisha (Wade) Weber, Malorie (Tony) Walz, Dalton Fischer, Kelley (Austin) Eggebraaten, Morgan (Damon) Macleary and Jacey Friman; twelve great-grandchildren and three on the way; brother, James Flynn; sister-in-law, Donna (Gerald) Schaeffer and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Dennis, October 31, 2024; her parents, Donald and Esther; brother-in-law, Eugene; sister-in-law, Judy Fischer and in-laws, Ervin and Irene Fischer.