Mae Louise McKinley danced her way into heaven on Monday night, December 16 ^th , 2019.   She is now in her forever home with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Mae was born on July 24 ^th , 1938 in New Hampton, Iowa.  She was the daughter of Fred and Oletha (Reinhart) Haeflinger, and was the oldest of four children.  She was raised in Alta Vista, Sumner, and Waterloo, Iowa and graduated from East Waterloo High School in 1955.  Following her high school graduation, Mae worked for Northwestern Bell Telephone, and was a long-distance operator when she went on a blind date, meeting her future husband just outside of the telephone company.

Mae married the love of her life, David McKinley, on March 17, 1957 in Waterloo, Iowa.  They made their home in Iowa for a short time, and a baby girl named Diane was added to their family. Then David's company transferred him to Minot, North Dakota.  Following the transfer to Minot, another baby girl, Sherry, was added to their family.

Mae began working for Minot State University in April 1965 as a secretary for a school on the university campus known as Minot Model High School.  The high school eventually closed, but the school reopened as an elementary school, Campus Laboratory School.  Mae worked there until the school closed in 1990.  She was then the secretary of the Division of Science at Minot State University until her retirement in 1995, serving Minot State University for over 30 years.

Mae loved her Lord Jesus, giving her heart to Him as a young girl.  She loved to tell people about the love of God, and was actively involved in teaching Sunday school, playing piano for worship, leading and attending Bible studies, and holding prayer meetings.

She was a music lover at heart.  Mae played piano, and when her girls were little, she would often play piano and sing them to sleep at night.  She was also a wonderful seamstress.  She sewed clothes for her girls, altering patterns with ease and wisdom.  She also sewed Barbie clothes for their dolls, and baby doll clothes for her granddaughter's dolls, handling all those tiny seams like a pro.

Those cherishing her sweet memory include her husband, David; children: Diane (Alan) Freidt, Minot, and Sherry (Mark) Morrison, Vacaville, CA; grandchildren: Amanda (Dustin) Safranski, Levi Freidt, and Logan Freidt, all of Minot, Lexi (Abe) Nelson, Roseville, CA, Jordan (Michael) McCollam, Vacaville, CA, Caleb Morrison, Sacramento, CA, and Josiah Morrison, Woodland, CA; great grandchildren: Luke, Paisley, and Sophie Safranski, Minot, Macie Nelson, Roseville, CA, Kaylee and Jesse McCollam, Vacaville, CA; brother: Clarence Haeflinger, Lucama, North Carolina; sisters: Ruth Schild, Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Rachel Ward, La Porte City, Iowa, along with numerous nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents.

Celebration Of The Life Of Mae Louise McKinley: Monday, December 30, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at First Assembly of God, Minot.
Interment: Rosehill Memorial Park, Minot.
Visitation: Sunday, December 29, 2019 from 3:00 pm until 5:00 pm at Thomas Family Funeral Home, Minot.
In lieu of flowers and plants, memorials are preferred to KHRT Radio or Youth For Christ.

Mae McKinley flowers