Mary Rosella Besler, 81, of Farley, Iowa, died at 10:57 p.m. on Thursday, May 4, 2017 at Shady Rest Care Center in Cascade, Iowa surrounded by her loving family.

Friends and relatives of Mary may call from 2 to 8 p.m., Sunday, May 7, 2017 at the Reiff Funeral Home in Dyersville, Iowa where a wake service will be held at 1:30 p.m.

Services for Mary will be held at 10:30 a.m., Monday May 8, 2017 at the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, Iowa with Rev. Dennis Quint Presiding. Burial will be held at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Key West, Iowa.

Mary was born June 1, 1935 in Zwingle, Iowa, daughter of Thomas and Helen (Bakey) McLaughlin. She received her education from Western Dubuque High School in Epworth, Iowa. On November 12, 1955 she was united in marriage to Donald I. Besler at St. Raphael's Cathedral in Dubuque, Iowa. He preceded her in death on June 21, 2014.

Mary raised six children and helped her husband on their 120 acre hog farm north of Farley. They both took great pride in the beautiful Quarter Horses that they showed weekly. Mom had a wonderful sense of humor and loved to have fun! She was known to start water fights in the house, play Mario Bros into the wee hours of the night, and take extravagant shopping sprees with her grandchildren to Theisens and Sindt Motor. She purchased ponies by the trailer load, boxes of baby chicks, and puppies by the litter. Mom hosted neighborhood ball games, adored her nephew Mark Healy, and valued time spent with family. She was unabashedly biased toward her grandchildren and was glad to steal your ear and tell you all about their activities and accomplishments. She had a sweet tooth that would make Shirley Temple blush. She was an Irish firecracker, and if you were lucky enough to be loved by her, she was ferociously loyal. Losing her son Paul was the heartbreak of her life, and our family takes great comfort in knowing they are finally reunited.

She was a member of the Basilica of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Dyersville.

She was a member of the Basilica St. Francis Xavier Parish.

She is survived by five daughters; Jodie Sheeley of Dyersville, IA, Jayne (Joe) Houselog of Dyersville, IA, Jean (Bob) Hingtgen of Peosta, IA, Jill (Paul) Brown of Farley, IA, and Janel (Dr. Todd) Kluesner of Farley, IA; 14 grandchildren; Paul, John, and Lauren Sheeley, Nic Houselog, Hannah, Heidi, and Ben Hingtgen, Joe, Jim, Jon, and Jenna Brown, Caroline, Anna, and Jack Kluesner; one sister-in-law, Venita McLaughlin of Dubuque, IA; six sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law; Jean (Mike) Knepper of Dyersville, IA, Shirley (Jim) Manternach of Monticello, IA, Verla (Pat) Horsfield of Epworth, IA, Norma (Jim) Butcher of Farley, IA, Helen (Dick) Schnier of Dyersville, IA, and Theresa (Steve) Gulyash of Dubuque, IA.

She is preceded in death by her parents; her husband; one son; Paul Besler May 21, 1976, one grandson in infancy Anthony M. Wolf, one sister, Patricia (Ed) Healy; one brother, TJ McLaughlin; one nephew, Mark Healy.

Mary's family wishes to extend a sincere thank you to Hospice of Dubuque, Shady Rest Memory Care, and the numerous in home caregivers who provided comfort and care in very rough waters, especially angels Karla Garrett and Malleri Goerdt,. We are eternally grateful

In lieu of flowers, donations can be given to Hospice of Dubuque or the Memory Care Unit at Shady Rest Care Center in Cascade.

Online condolences may be left for the family at www.reifffuneralhomeinc.com