Mary F. Krier

Mary F. Krier, 69, of Sioux City died Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013 , at a Sioux City hospital after living with Lou Gehrig's disease or ALS for the last 15 years.
Memorial services will be 11 a.m. today at Morningside Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home, 1801 Morningside Ave. , in Sioux City , with the Rev. Jerome Cosgrove officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service today at the funeral home. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.christysmith.com .
Mary was born on July 20, 1944 , the daughter of the late Wilbur Lefler and Laura ( Graves ) Lefler. She was born and raised in Sioux City , attended Sioux City Catholic Schools and graduated from East High in 1962.
Mary married Dennis Krier on Sept. 27, 1962 , in Elk Point , S.D. The couple lived in the Kingsley and Pierson , Iowa , area until 1990, when they moved to Lake Park , Iowa . They resided there until 1999 when they moved to Sioux City . Mary operated gift shops for many years in each of the towns they lived. In 1998, Mary was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS).
Shortly after that diagnosis, Mary became very active in the ALS Association. Mary was an advocate for anyone living with ALS. She was a strong inspirational voice that touched many lives of the thousands of people living with ALS all over this country and the world. Mary's hobbies included many types of crafts and social media like Facebook and Pinterest. She used the Internet to reach out to as many people as she could who were living with ALS. She would donate proceeds from the sales of her many craft projects to the ALS Association to help with research.
She was a member of Nativity Catholic Church.
Survivors include her husband, Dennis Krier; a son, David and Staci Krier of Des Moines; daughters, Kim and John Kreber of Jefferson, S.D., Dee Dee and Mike Krier-Malchow of Sioux City, and Amy and Rob White of Dakota Dunes, S.D.; stepson, Mike and Mary Sue Jaacks of Chicago, Ill.; 13 grandchildren, Kyle, Justin and his wife, Jacque and Brianne Kreber, Keeleigh, Brooklyn and Mishaela Malchow, Heather and Andrew White, and Thomas and Jackson Krier; stepgrandchildren, Jered Jaacks and Zachary and Cassandra Malchow; a great-grandson, Kade Lutt-Kreber; her mother, Laura Lefler-Kruse of South Sioux City; three brothers, Willy and Kaye Lefler of Sioux City, Wally Lefler of Sioux City, and Jerry and Beth Lefler of Sioux City; four sisters, Joanie Stephens of Sioux City, Jackie and John McKeever of Charolette, N.C., Julie and Dale Benz of Tempe, Ariz., and Cindy and Harold Janke of Pender, Neb.; mother-in-law, Cecile Krier of Sergeant Bluff; three brothers-in-law, Ken Krier of North Sioux City, Ran and Nancy Krier of Lubbock, Texas, and Rick and Judy Krier of Sioux City; and two sisters-in-law, Kathy Lefler of Stuart, Fla., and Gloria Johnson of Sergeant Bluff; three special friends and longtime caregivers, Katie Utesch, Sheena Meier and Lori Allen, all of Sioux City.
She was preceded in death by her father, Wilbur Lefler; two brothers, Mike and David Lefler; sister-in-law, Marge Krier; father-in-law, Martin Krier; and brother-in-law, Bill Stephens.