Mary Ellen Sundell

Mary Ellen Sundell, 88, of Wakefield, NE, died on Tuesday, December 22, 2015, at the Wakefield Health Care Center in Wakefield, NE. Funeral services for Mary Ellen will be held on Monday, December 28, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. at Salem Lutheran Church in Wakefield; Pastors Barbara Hansen and Kathy Salts will be officiating. The visitation will be held on Sunday, from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church with an Eastern Star and a P.E.O. service at 7:00 p.m. Burial will be in the Wakefield Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to P.E.O. Chapter CZ scholarship fund. Mary Ellen was born December 28, 1926, in Sergeant Bluff, IA, the daughter of Elmer and Ethel (Eldridge) Kingsbury. She grew up in Sergeant Bluff, where as a young child her mother passed away and her father remarried to Uneeta Orchard. She attended and graduated from Sergeant Bluff High School, received her Bachelor’s Degree from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA, and later her Master’s Degree from Wayne State College in Wayne, NE. On December 21, 1949, she was united in marriage to Alvin Sundell in Sioux City, IA. To this union two daughters were born: Suellen and Sarilyn. The couple farmed south of Wakefield, where she taught High School for over 30 years and was NHS Advisor for many of those years. Mary Ellen was a member of P.E.O., Wakefield American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, Order of the Eastern Star, Daughters of the Nile, Delta Kappa Gamma, and several community social clubs. She enjoyed many hobbies including ceramics, embroidery, needlework, word puzzles and gardening. She also had a love for reading mysteries and mythology. Most of all, Mary Ellen loved her family. She is survived by her daughters Suellen (Lonnie) Koepke of Broken Bow, NE, and Sarilyn (Gary) Stine of Valley Center, CA. She is also survived by her granddaughters Miranda (Dan) Stoll, Marisalynn Koepke, Emily Stine, and a grandson Michael Stine, two great grandchildren Jaxen and Holley Stoll, and three nephews. Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents Elmer and Ethel Kingsbury, stepmother Uneeta Kingsbury, and her husband Alvin on September 17, 2011.