Mary E. Fenelon

Mary Edith Fenelon (nee Ziebarth) passed away on January 17, 2026 in Walnut Creek, California. An informal memorial gathering will be held Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 2:00 PM at Skroch Funeral Chapel in Flandreau, South Dakota. Burial will take place at Union Cemetery in Flandreau.

Mary was born on July 16, 1934 on the family farm in Springfield Township, Moody County, South Dakota, to William and Helen Dusek Ziebarth. She graduated from Flandreau High School as valedictorian of her class in 1952. In 1978, she completed the BBA marketing and public relations program (magna cum laude) at Marymount College of Virginia.

In 1952, she married Raymond Lamp, a neighboring farmer. During this time she worked for a local attorney as a legal secretary, later moving to Minneapolis where she worked as a secretary for various union groups. While in Minneapolis, she divorced and in 1964 married James Fenelon. Her husband’s position led them to move to the Washington, DC area, where in 1975 she joined Commerce Clearing House as a territory sales representative, moved to New York City as assistant division manager, eventually becoming a Second Vice President in their Chicago headquarters.

In 2008, she moved to Lafayette, California and eventually Walnut Creek, California to be closer to her daughter and grandson. She became active in the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church and served on the boards of several organizations that focused on homeless and affordable housing issues.

Mary is survived by her daughter, Theresa Fenelon Falk, of Pleasant Hill, California and grandson, William Hugh Falk, of Moscow, Idaho. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bill and Helen Ziebarth, her sister Wilma Gehrts, and her brother Walter Ziebarth.