Mary Lou Soukup

Mary Lou Soukup of Rochester, MN passed away on October 11, 2025

Mary Lou Wieman was born May 24, 1939, in Beaumont, TX to Louis F. and Rosalie (Johnson) Wieman. The family traveled as her father was an engineer who supervised construction. Her sister Linda joined the family in 1941 while they lived in Houston. In 1946 they moved to Mohall, North Dakota to be closer to family. Her sister Jane was born in 1948. Mary Lou thrived in the Mohall school system. She loved music and practiced piano and clarinet endlessly. After graduation from Mohall High School in 1957, she continued her education at Minot State College majoring in music. She joined a sorority and made lifelong friends. With her degree in hand in 1961, she and her sorority sister traveled extensively through Europe. When she returned, she began her teaching career where she passed on her love of music to elementary and middle school students in Minnesota. Mary Lou returned to college at Bemidji State to earn her Masters Degree in Organ Performance.

While teaching in Owatonna, MN she met James P Soukup whom she married in 1966. They lived in several places but settled in Rochester. After her retirement from teaching in 1987, she worked for IBM In Rochester as a classroom facilitator for the instructional seminars IBM provided for clients. Her love for education and music led her to leave a legacy endowment at her Alma Mater, now Minot State University, for student music scholarships and for faculty members in the music department to further their education.

She had a great sense of humor, loved to laugh and joke around. She was a joy to be with. Mary Lou enjoyed being in nature listening to birds sing, tending to her flower gardens and observing wildlife. She loved all pets. She had to pet or snuggle any cat or dog that would allow it. She was a veracious reader of books and was a walking dictionary so extensive was her vocabulary. She completed crossword puzzles daily and often in pen.

Mary Lou had no children of her own, but she instilled the love of music in the thousands of children she taught. A life well lived.

Preceded in death: husband Jim, parents Louis and Rosalie Wieman, brother-in-law Lanny Wade, uncle Kenneth Wieman, aunt Sophie Johnson.

Survived by her sisters Linda Wade of Minot, ND and Jane Sturgis (Steve) of Denver CO. Nieces and Nephews Morey Wade (Susan), Michele Wade (Tom), Ryan Sturgis (Chi), Amy Mos. Her Grand Nieces and Nephews Taylor Wade (Taryn), Ashley James (Emanuel) and their son Sebastian, Colby Wade (Autumn), Patrick Brown (Brittany) and their daughter Brooklyn, Matthew Brown (Jacqui), Laura Masters (Daniel), Gavin Daniels (Bailey), Allison Brown (Emily), Drew Dawson.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, December 5, 2025, at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Homes, 5421 Royal Place NW, Rochester, MN. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

Memorials can be made to Paws and Claws Humane Society https://www.pawsandclaws.org/wpweb/

Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the Soukup family. To share a special memory or condolence, please visit www.ranfranzandvinefh.com.