Mary Gessner, age 93 of Starbuck, died Saturday, January 24, 2015 at the Minnewaska Lutheran Home.  Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, February 1, 2015 at the Minnewaska Lutheran Home in Starbuck.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the nursing home.  Interment will be in the Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery.  Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Glenwood. Mary B. Gessner, the daughter of Frank A. and Bertha (Feigum) Bartke, was born on May 24, 1921, in Glenwood MN.   She grew up on a farm west of Glenwood and attended Glenwood Lutheran Church.  She graduated from Glenwood High School in 1939 and then attended the University of Minnesota. On February 24, 1944, Mary was united in marriage to Richard Gessner in Minneapolis, MN.  No children were born to this union. They resided in Richfield, MN. In 1963 they built a house in Mound, MN.  Mary worked for 30 years at Johnson & Higgins Insurance Company.  After Richard's death in 1991, her next-door neighbors, Brenda and Maciek were in need of a babysitter.  She was overjoyed to be a part of Mik, Kylie, Kit and Coco's lives. In 1993, Mary moved to Maple Plain, MN where she was befriended by Tammy and Gary.  About this same time, Mary began to work for Ridgeview Hospital in Waconia, MN caring for sick children who could not attend daycare. In 1994, Mary moved into Bosma's in Mound. Mary was a 4H member and went to the Minnesota State Fair every year.  She also belonged to the Sons of Norway.  She loved animals and always had a dog and a birdfeeder.  She loved gardening and had geraniums that were 30 years old.  She enjoyed coffee in the morning outdoors, was a great cook, and a caregiver to many of her aunts and her sister, Mildred. In 2012 Mary became a resident of the Minnewaska home. It was her desire to return home. She received the best of care, always saying how happy she was to be there. Mary will always be remembered as a gracious, kind, gentle soul who loved nature, animals and helping those in need. Above all else, Mary believed in her heavenly Father and spread His love to everyone. Mary is survived by her nieces and nephews: Donald (Joyce) Bond of Buffalo NY, Beverly Davis of Phoenix, AZ; Sue Ford of Dover, Delaware; Bert (Denise) Benjaminson of Bloomington, MN; Joyce (Joseph) Cochran of Brooklyn Park, MN; Ruth Benjaminson of Jordan, MN; Norman Benjaminson of Minneapolis, MN; and Linda Wilson of Tucson, AZ, 22 great-nieces and nephews; and 35 great-great-nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Bertha Bartke; her husband, Richard Gessner; 2 sisters, Doris Bond and Mildred Benjaminson Christianson; a niece, Noreen Klier, and a nephew, Craig Christianson.