Mary Clare Pfeffer

Mary Clare Pfeffer, long-time resident of Fargo and teacher of home economics at Fargo Central High School, died on Monday, December 8, 2003, at the age of 88. She was the eldest of the three daughters of John and Mary Pfeffer who settled in Fargo in 1910. Born June 1, 1915, Ms. Pfeffer was a graduate of Sacred Heart Academy in 1933 (now Shanley High School) and the College of St. Benedict, St. Joseph, MN. She obtained a master?s degree at the University of Colorado in Boulder specializing in home economics. She developed a career in secondary education which she combined with her love of travel, enabling her to live and work in various communities, among them Albuquerque, Grants, and Santa Fe, NM, Covington, KY, Hartford, CT, as well as in Canada. Joining the faculty of Fargo Central High School in 1943, Ms. Pfeffer?s first salary was $1,434. She remained with that school for more than 20 years. During her tenure, she participated in a teacher exchange program with a school in Ilkley, Yorkshire, England, for one year. Ms. Pfeffer spent several years caring for her elderly father. After his death in 1961 and her retirement from teaching in 1973, she resumed her personal interests, particularly her love of music, having been a student of both the piano and violin. Expanding her interest in classical opera, Ms. Pfeffer would travel to New York and other cities to attend performances of the New York Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Pfeffer loved to correspond with the many friends she made during her travels, keeping lifelong contacts which she greatly valued. Her Fargo friends remember her as a lively conversationalist, frequent entertainer, and loyal member of St. Mary?s Parish where she spent much of her time in her later years. She was a devout Catholic, attending daily Mass and communion throughout her life. Community organizations she belonged to were Fargo Elks Club, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and the League of Mary. Ms. Pfeffer was preceded in death by her sister, Eloise C. (William) Clower. A surviving sister, Margaret (Magner) Muus, resides in Minot, ND, and Clearwater Beach, Florida. Others of her family include 13 nephews and nieces, 27 grand-nephews and nieces, and three great-grand nieces. Visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. with a Rosary by Catholic Daughters at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in Boulger Funeral Home. A prayer service will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in Boulger Funeral Home. Funeral Mass will be held at 12 Noon Friday in St. Mary?s Cathedral, Fargo. Funeral arrangements by Boulger Funeral Home, Fargo. Online guestbook at www.boulgerfuneralhome.com.