Mary G. Hlavac

Mary Gay Hlavac (née Schewe), 67, of North Mankato, MN tragically passed away on November 9th, 2025.

A Celebration of Mary’s Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., November 22, 2025, at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary. Visitation will be from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service at Northview.

In lieu of flowers donations may be given to Hoover Elementary PTA.

Mary was born to Frederick and Lyla (née Nagel) Schewe on December 10th, 1957, in Blue Earth, MN along with her siblings Robert “Bob” Schewe and Leola Hagedorn. She grew up on their family farm of which she told many stories.

Mary was united in marriage to William “Bill” Hlavac on May 18th, 1991, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Mankato, MN. They went on to have two children, Dustin and Abby.

Mary was a graduate of Blue Earth Area High School, thereafter receiving a post-graduate certificate in Early Childhood Education at Hutchinson Vocational Technical College. Mary was a dedicated infant teacher at Golden Heart Child Care Center in North Mankato for 27 years before transitioning to working as a special education paraprofessional, most recently at Hoover Elementary School which she dearly loved. Needless to say, she held a strong passion for working with children and helping them to succeed early in life. It is impossible to count the number of lives that she touched and shone a light on throughout her many years of dedicated work.

Mary loved to read books and watch birds pay a visit to her plentiful bird feeders. Her biggest passion, aside from working with children everyday, was her family and friends. She garnered much joy and happiness from watching her kids play sports, perform in band concerts, and watching them grow and succeed in life. Her most recent joy in life was the addition of her grandson, Declan, being able to begin the role of grandma and watching him meet his milestones. She was a devoted wife to her husband as they began traveling more often in their later years, beginning to enjoy what life had to offer. You could easily find her at country music concerts, kicking her feet in the pool, and just relaxing and taking in the simple comforts life had to offer. Mary will be remembered for her contagious laugh, kind spirit, willingness to help others, and the non-stop smile on her face that brought light to anyone who was able to meet her.

Those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Bill; her two kids, Abby and Dustin (Whitney) Hlavac; grandson, Declan; brother, Robert (Patsy) Schewe; sister, Leola (Harvey) Hagedorn; sister-in-law, Beverly (Michael) White; brother-in-law, Steve (Karen) Hlavac; mother-in-law, Donna Hlavac (née Filzen); as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her mother and father, Lyla and Frederick Schewe; sisters-in-law, Deborah McGuire (née Hlavac) and Linda Kump (née Hlavac); father-in-law, William Hlavac; as well as her maternal and paternal grandparents and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.