Mary Jean Clifton, age 88, of Dodgeville, formerly of Montfort, passed away peacefully on Nov. 15, 2016, at CrestRidge Memory Care with her family at her side.
Mary Jean was born Sept. 7, 1928, on the family farm in Iowa County to John and Mayme (Minter) Laufenberg. She married the love of her life, Marvin, of Mt. Hope on April 7, 1948. The couple farmed near Montfort until moving into Montfort in 1961. Mary Jean drove a van for special needs children in Iowa County and later a bus for Southwest Opportunities which always included their Down Syndrome daughter, Nancy. Mary Jean especially enjoyed dancing, playing cards with family and friends, bowling, sewing, and the occasional trip to the Casino. Faith was very important to Mary Jean. She belonged to St. Thomas Altar Society and helped with many church functions.
Mary Jean is survived by three children: David (Joyce) Clifton of Montfort; Jill (Rick) Grimm of Verona; Lorrie (Peter) Briehl of Beaver Dam; six grandchildren: Ryan (Jill) Clifton; Brooke (Joel) Oleson; Sadie (Chad) Dahlk; Seth (Andrea) Grimm; Jonathan (Lauren) Briehl and Kayla (Brad) Julius; twelve great grandchildren; nieces, nephews and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Marvin on June 3, 2014, her daughter, Nancy, on April 14, 2003, her parents John and Mayme Laufenberg; her sisters, Elmira (Stanley) Cerny and Verus (Orville) Haas.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday afternoon Nov. 18, 2016 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Montfort with burial to follow in the church cemetery. Father Jim Murphy will officiate. Visitation will be held from 12:00 P.M. until the time of service at the church on Friday. In lieu of plants and flowers, memorials will be made to Special Olympics or St. Thomas Catholic Church. The Soman-Larson funeral home of Montfort is assisting the family.