Mary Hund

Mary “Ma” Elizabeth Hund passed away peacefully at home in Winona, MN, at the age of 61. Everyone who knew her knows that she didn’t just live sixty-one years, she filled them with laughter, with love, with chaos, with warmth, with a whole lot of heart, and just a touch of sass.

Mary was born the youngest of a big, loud, loving family in Fountain City, WI. She was her daddy’s baby girl, and she carried that sparkle, equal parts soft and stubborn, through every season of her life.

She became a mother at sixteen and motherhood became her greatest purpose. It wasn’t always easy, but Mary met every challenge with grit, grace, and a fiercely protective heart. Over the years, she lived in Fountain City, Owatonna, Medford, and finally came home to Winona, where her world centered around her three children, her grandchildren, and later, her great-grandchildren. No matter where she was, she created a home that felt like love in its purest form: a warm kitchen, a safe hug, a place where you were always enough.

To know Mary meant having the privilege of knowing “Ma.” She didn’t just care, she claimed. She gathered people in the family, introduced friends as her own, and made you feel seen in a way that stayed with you. Her booming laugh, her proud text messages, her signature dumplings, and all versions of her famous egg sandwiches… everything she did was full of heart. And if she loved you, she made sure you knew it.

Mary had a million little joys that made her who she was. She enjoyed her “Mama juice” as a nightcap, found thrill in the tiniest details of scratch-off tickets, and lived for spontaneous road trips with her children, nature walks when her body allowed, and beach days with her grandchildren. She never missed a chance to spoil her grandbabies with snacks and surprises, and their smiles lit up her world like nothing else.

She was small in size but larger than life, a force of love and energy that filled every room she walked into.

She met people exactly where they were, no judgement, no conditions. Mary loved through the mess, the magic, and everything in between. Her compassion was fierce. Her loyalty was loud. Her belief in others ran deep. She was a safe place, a loud cheerleader, a steady friend, and a once-in-a-lifetime kind of soul.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Peter and Patricia Hund; her siblings: Allen Hund, and Linda Swenson; and former husband and dear friend, Alan Sackett, who was the father of her children and a lifelong piece of her heart.

She is survived by her children: Kevin Levine, Charles (Cassidy) Sackett and Anne Sackett; grandchildren: Tyler, Evelyn, Skyla, Elyjah (Sarita), Caleb, Jordan, Jarek (Yoko), Emmelia, and Alayna; great-grandchildren: Amelia, and Judah; she is also survived by six siblings, many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and a long list of “chosen children.” These were the friends and loved ones who weren’t born into her family but were fully claimed by her heart.

Mary’s legacy isn’t’ just in the names we list here. It’s in the meals she made. The late-night calls. The “I love you” texts. The way she bragged about her grandkids. The hugs that fixed you. The pride she carried for everyone she loved. And the absolutely unshakable belief that you were worth loving.

She was a lighthouse in the storm. A soft place to land. A fierce protector. A living, breathing reminder that love doesn’t have to be perfect to be powerful.

The space she leaves behind is enormous because she took up space in the best way. Her memory will live on in every belly laugh, every family story retold, every beach trip, every dumpling pot, every egg sandwich, and every person who ever got to say, “That’s Ma.”

And oh, what a gift that was.