Mary Ellen (Lyster) Deverell

Mary Ellen (Lyster) Deverell, age 86, of Storm Lake, Iowa died Wednesday, August 26, 2009 in Storm Lake. Mary Ellen Lyster was the seventh child born to Gus and Lena (Swanson) Lyster on March 17, 1923 at home near Webb, Iowa. Mary was baptized and confirmed into the Lutheran Faith. Mary went to grade school at Cornell School and graduated from Schaller High School in 1940. After school, she went to work at the Defense Plant in La Porte, Indiana where she made 55mm shells. She stayed with friends and traveled to work with them, as she didnâ€™t own a car. During that time she became very ill with appendicitis and was on the critical list while there. Realizing the war would be over soon, she went to work for Western Union in Chicago, Illinois. In 1947, Mary transferred to the office in Detroit, Michigan. She worked there one year and then transferred to Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1948. She later transferred to Los Angeles, California. It was there that she met and married Al Deverell on September 1, 1962 in Reno, Nevada. In 1983, she retired from Western Union and moved to Clear Lake, Iowa to be near her nephew, Jim Lyster and the rest of her family. Mary stayed two years in Clear Lake and then returned to Escondido, California where she lived until September 2005. At that time she sold her belongings and her nephew, Gene and his wife, Gloria Lyster assisted her in getting settled at the Ostego Place in Storm Lake, Iowa. She worked nights for several years so therefore; mornings were never her thing. Mary always enjoyed celebrating her birthday on St. Patrickâ€™s Day. Mary has been like a mother to her twelve nieces and nephews. Her charm and gentle nature led her to become known as â€œQueen Maryâ€ to the family. She had a wonderful sense of humor and loved a good joke. She will always be remembered for her honesty, wit and fun loving spirit. Mary was a loving and caring aunt who always had a hug for everyone and will be dearly missed by all. Left to cherish her memory are her sister-in-law, Agnes Meseck of Cherokee, Iowa; nieces and nephews: Joelle (Robert) McIlroy, Janet (Ronald) Buchholz, Jack (Colleen) Lyster, Carol (Bill) Burgeson, Carl Lyster, Jill (Henry) Meyer, Pat (Lynn) Friedrichsen, David Krogstad, Gene (Gloria) Lyster, Jim (Judy) Lyster, Bill (Mary) Lyster, Steve (Marianne) Krogstad; extended family and many friends. Mary was preceded in death by her loving husband, Al in 1972; her parents; four brothers: Carl, Bertel, Wendell (infancy) and Frans Lyster; and two sisters, Beatrice Halverson and Alice Krogstad. The family request that memorials be sent to Buena Vista County Hospice.

Mary Ellen (Lyster) Deverell

March 17, 1923 - August 26, 2009