Visitation will be held 4:00-7:00 p.m. on Friday, November 25, at the Runge Mortuary. Funeral Mass will be held 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 26, at Our Lady of Victory Church. She will be laid to rest in Davenport Memorial Park Cemetery. Online condolences may be expressed at www.rungemortuary.com.
Mary was born to Edmund and Sylvia (Gubbels) Goeser in Harlan, IA. She graduated from St. Paul Catholic High School in Defiance, IA, later attending Marycrest College and graduating with a Bachelors in Science Degree in Nursing.
Mary was united in marriage to Steven Keitel on August, 19, 1972, in Westphalia, IA. They were blessed with 20 years of marriage before Steven’s sudden death in 1992.
Mary worked for 40 years as a nurse at St. Luke’s Hospital, Davenport; Genesis Visiting Nurses, Davenport; and Mercy Home Care, Clinton. She loved working with the elderly and poor.
She was very proud of her 2 sons and what they made of themselves, despite losing their father at such a young age. Her grandchildren were very special to her and she cherished every minute with them. She was an active member of Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, including the Prayer Shawl Ministry and St. Anne’s Circle. She also enjoyed sewing, crocheting, reading, and anything outdoors. She loved nature and Iowa Hawkeye basketball.
Those left to honor her memory include sons, Ken (Anne) Keitel and Brian Keitel; grandchildren, Sophie and Charlie Keitel; and siblings, Jolene (Joe) O’Tool, Jim (June) Goeser, and Bruce (Julie) Goeser.
She was preceded in death by her husband; parents; sister, Jane Goetzinger; brother-in-laws, Chuck Goetzinger, John Keitel and Paul Keitel; sister-in-law, Margaret Keitel; in-laws, Alice and Charles Lasack; and husband’s birth father, Henry Keitel.