Obituary of Lucille Marie Mason

Lucille Marie Mason, daughter of Peter Hauger and Mary Freimuth of Irene, SD, passed away at the age of 86 in Petaluma, CA on July 15th. Lucille suffered from Alzheimer's disease in her last years and was cared for by her loving daughter Marla Vaughan and the very caring and supportive staff at The Oaks Convalescent Hospital in Petaluma. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 Saturday August the 10th at St. Columba Catholic Church, 29601 444th Ave. Irene, SD, preceded by a Friday evening Visitation from 5-7 p.m. and rosary at 7:00 p.m. and a 7:30 p.m. Scripture service at Opsahl-Kostel Funeral Home and Crematory in Yankton. Burial will be in the parish cemetery. Visitations will resume one hour prior to the service at the church. Lucille Marie Hauger stepped onto a Greyhound bus heading for Southern California when she was just twenty years old wanting to leave behind the farming life of her youth to explore the possibilities that California offered a young woman's adventurous mind. Her bus ended its westward journey in Pasadena, CA, at the steps of an ice cream parlor, where she stepped in, bought an ice cream, got a job, then rented a room upstairs, and this was the beginning of her life in California. She met through friends Robert Mason, originally from Aurora, Missouri, and married him in Pasadena in 1950. They purchased a home and settled in Torrance, CA and had three children, Gary, Marla, and Thomas, with a fourth child, Mary born in Huntsville, Alabama during a four year job transfer for Robert with Douglas Aircraft. Daniel, the fifth and final child of Lucille was born in Torrance after returning from Alabama. Lucille raised her children in Torrance with all the sparkle of a modern woman however the farm girl was forever in her, she always raised a backyard vegetable garden that would have made her parents proud. She introduced her children to the local farmer's market and embraced the exotic culinary world of avocados, kiwi fruit, cilantro, arugula, and heirloom tomatoes well before they became mainstream, but she could always make a delicious Jell-O mold for the family Thanksgiving Day potlucks. Lucille loved plants, flowers, cooking and baking, and personal friendships along with a passion for interior decorating and was known to desire a new house when the previous home was complete. She followed her son, Thomas back to South Dakota in 2003 buying a home in Yankton, and once again embraced the farm girl within and life in South Dakota. She returned to California when she started to become challenged with Alzheimer's to be closer to family for support. Lucille will rest next to her parents at St. Columba Catholic Cemetery in Irene, SD the place of her birth in the Mayfield area in 1927 and across the street from the Hauger family farm. Lucille is survived by her daughter; Marla Vaughan, her husband Brian and their children, Wesley, Eric, and Kimberly, and daughter Mary Craig, her husband Alan and their children Garrett and Tyler. She is also survived by her son; Thomas Mason, and his wife Nancy along with son Daniel Mason, and his wife Cornelia. Lucille was preceded in death by her first son Gary Mason, who we all feel will look forward to showing Mom around in heaven and may just mix a martini for her...