|
Deanna Mauck (February 13, 2013) |
A service of remembrance and celebration of life will be held for Deanna Mauck, 64, of Aberdeen on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 10:30 a.m. at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Burial will follow at Riverside Memorial Park. The family will greet guests one hour prior to the service. Pastor Jeff Whillock will officiate.
Visitation will be Friday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Spitzer-Miller Funeral Home, 1111 S. Main St., Aberdeen, with a prayer service to follow at 5:30. The family will be present after 3. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Aberdeen would be appreciated.
God fulfilled his promise and took Deanna home on Sunday, Feb. 10, after an arduous three-year battle with a rare form of brain cancer. Her last days were spent at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls, surrounded by her family.
Deanna Faye Aman was born Feb. 24, 1948, to Herbert and Elva (Rossow) Aman in Mobridge. She grew up in Selby and graduated from Selby High School where she excelled in academics and music.
On Dec. 19, 1966, she married her high school sweetheart and lifelong love, Charles Mauck. They made their home in Mobridge, where Deanna worked at the First National Bank and then at The Dakota Leadership Program. In 1967, their first child was born, Melissa Jo. In 1971, they were blessed with another daughter, Jessica Dee, and then a son, Brandon Charles, in 1980.
In 1986, Deanna went back to school at Northern State College and obtained her bachelor’s degree and later her master’s degree. Her first teaching position was at Roncalli High School in Aberdeen where she taught English from 1989 to 2001. She then pursued an exciting new opportunity at Northern State University as a Master Teacher of English in the E-Learning Center. She was a pioneer in a new technology- based learning environment. Her students meant so much to her and she worked tirelessly in her efforts to educate and motivate. In 2011, she was nominated for a prestigious national teaching award — Presidential Scholar Educator of the Year. It was a career highlight when she was recognized at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Deanna retired from NSU in 2012 due to her illness.
Music was a meaningful part of Deanna’s life. She enjoyed the theatre, taught piano lessons, played the saxophone and pipe organ, and loved nothing more than singing at the top of her voice in church. She also loved quiet time reading, writing, playing Scrabble and spending precious time with her children and grandchildren.
Deanna was a devoted servant of God, sharing her faith and her many gifts with her church. She was known for her big warm smile, her quick wit, her work ethic and her quiet calming presence. She had an amazing spirit and filled many roles as mentor, counselor and spiritual leader. Though her time on earth was too short, she wasted not a moment and her legacy will live on in the innumerable lives she touched.
Grateful for having shared Deanna's life are her spouse, Chuck Mauck; three children: Melissa (Les) Thiery of Hartford, Wis., Jessica (Peter) Aiello of Paradise Valley, Ariz., and Brandon (Becky) Mauck of Phoenix, Ariz.; five grandchildren: Nathaniel Thiery, Kate and Alexa Aiello, and Annastyn and Maci Mauck; one sister, Patsy (Emery) Visto of Oakes, N.D.; and her mother and stepfather, Elva and Floyd Baumann of Selby.
Deanna was preceded in death by her father, Herbert Aman; her sister, Sonja Huber; and her nephew, Jeffrey Visto.
spitzerfuneralhome.com
