Mary Lou (Bambusch) Frovarp

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mary Lou (Bambusch) Frovarp, of Hazen, ND, on January 22, 2025, after a short but courageous battle with cancer. Services will be held at 10:00 AM CST on Monday, January 27, 2025 at St. Martin Catholic Church, Hazen with Fr. Thomas Grafsgaard officiating. Burial will follow at St. Martin Catholic Cemetery, Hazen. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 6:00 PM CST on Sunday, January 26 at St. Martin Catholic Church, Hazen with a rosary and vigil service at 6:00 PM. Mary was a woman of tremendous faith, compassion, and strength, and she always put family first. Mary was born on April 8, 1952, in Port Huron, MI, to Ernest and Ann (Wheatcraft) Bambusch. Mary worked in a pickle factory, yet she would not eat a pickle. She would even take off the little single slice from her Big Mac. Mary graduated from Port Huron Catholic High School in 1970. She attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette, MI, where she met the love of her life, Steve, who was stationed at K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base. Steve and Mary were married at K.I. Sawyer on December 16, 1972, in the midst of a blizzard. Their marriage lasted a remarkable 52 years until the time of her death. In 1981, they moved to Hazen, ND, where Steve became employed by the City of Hazen. Steve and Mary had two sons, Richard and Michael. Mary worked in Hazen for a short time at Krause’s Super Valu after Michael started school but quit when her work schedule would not allow her to be at home when the kids got home from school. On April 2, 1996, Mary became the bookkeeper for the Mercer County Regional Airport, a position she held until the time of her death. Mary was involved in many church activities. She taught catechism for four years and started a rosary-making club at St. Martin with the help of Sandy Knopik. As people moved away from St. Martin, they moved their club to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Beulah, ND. What started out as a hobby turned into a roomful of beads and a passion for jewelry and rosary making. Along with her hobby of jewelry making, she loved reading, action and disaster movies, and playing Sudoku, Solitaire, and Bejeweled, often to the point where Steve would have to fend for himself to make dinner because she could not put her books down. Mary loved traveling. Steve and Mary made many trips all over the country in cars and on motorcycles. They made one trip from Marquette to Sturgis in 1976 on Steve’s 750 Honda. They also took a motorcycle trip from Ann Arbor, MI, to Medora, ND. She traveled to Europe for a family wedding in 1989 and later introduced her family to European travel in 1995. A car accident on August 6, 2004, left Mary with a permanent injury and chronic pain, which limited her travel. In 2012, Mary took on the role of grandma very enthusiastically. She loved to encourage her grandchildren to tap into their creative and artistic sides. She would spoil them at any given time with trips to the movies, the zoo, the pumpkin patch, Space Aliens, and, of course, McDonald's. She would happily support their persistent requests that a chocolate milkshake fulfills the drink requirement, thus allowing an additional treat after their meals. Mary is survived by her husband, Steve of Hazen, ND; her sons, Richard of West Fargo, ND, and Michael (Andrea) of Bismarck, ND; her grandchildren, Emalin, Ellie, and Eli of Bismarck, ND; and her siblings, Joy (Dave) of Whitmore Lake, MI, Leland of Holt, MI, and John (Wanda) of Marysville, MI, along with numerous nieces and nephews. She will be deeply missed by all. Mary was preceded in death by her parents, brother Bill, sister Barb, mother-in-law Rosemary, sister-in-law Lynn, nephew Carl, and grandchild (angel baby) Gabriel. Our loss is heaven's gain. Arrangements are conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.

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