Mary Ann Wellnitz

Mary Ann Mae Wellnitz, née Flessner, was born on March 28, 1933, near Gurley, Nebraska, sharing her birthdate with her father. She joined two older siblings, Lavern and Faetta, and later moved with her parents, Frank and Anna B. Flessner, to a home near Dalton, Nebraska. As a young girl, she spent many happy hours riding horseback through the pine-covered hills.

While in college, Mary Ann endured the profound loss of her beloved father. She and her mother relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, where she worked at Cooper’s Music and Appliance Store. There she met Jim Wellnitz, a student at Colorado State University. Jim proposed on her birthday, and they married on June 7, 1953, at the Lutheran church in Dalton that Mary Ann had attended.

The couple began their life together in a small trailer on the Wellnitz family place near Rushville, Nebraska. After Jim completed his ROTC training, they lived briefly in a trailer park at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, with their infant daughter Ruth Ann. While Jim served a tour of duty in Korea, Mary Ann and Ruth Ann returned to Fort Collins to live with her mother. Upon his return, they spent four months at Fort Carson, Colorado, before purchasing land north of Rushville. They first lived on the old Nidal place, then moved with their growing family—Ruth Ann, Frank, Julie, Deb, Herb, Rick, and Ken—into the home they built, where they resided together for more than fifty years.

Mary Ann and Jim raised cattle and established the first domestic elk herd in Nebraska. She found particular delight in raising Pomeranians and, later in life, goats. After Jim’s passing in 2009, she continued to live on the ranch, where she enjoyed crafts and the companionship of her dogs Rusty and Sweet Pea. Her life was guided by a deep love for her Lord. She passed away on March 7, 2026, at Chadron Hospital in Chadron, Nebraska. She was preceded in death by her husband Jim and great-grandson Jace. She is survived by her seven children, Ruth Ann (Allen), Julie (Mike), Deb (Tim), Frank (Lois), Herb (Cindy), Rick, and Ken (Tammy), along with numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and her dog Rusty.