Mary Lou Hixson, daughter of Clarence Hurvey and Mary Ellen Blake Hixson, was born on October 9, 1928, in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and passed away on October 17, 2017, in Grinnell, Iowa. She attended the public schools of Shawnee, graduating with the class of 1946. Mary Lou attended Oklahoma Baptist University, of which her grandfather, W.P. Blake, was a founder, and there she met her future husband, Beryl E. Clotfelter. She graduated in 1950 and then trained in medical technology, and worked as a Medical Technologist while Beryl studied for his Ph.D. degree in physics from the University of Oklahoma. In 1951, Mary Lou and Beryl married in Shawnee. After Beryl's graduation, Mary Lou became an at-home mother, bearing three children: Anne, David, and Susan. The family lived in Bartlesville, OK, Moscow, ID, and Shawnee, OK, before moving to Grinnell in 1963. Mary Lou returned to work in the '70s, when she served as Director of the Grinnell College reading laboratory, and later she took a leading role in the development of the hospice program in Grinnell. She served on the board of Caring Adults, Hospice Grinnell, and Grinnell Area Housing, and on the Foundation board of Grinnell Regional Medical Center. She also served as a volunteer in many capacities, including Head Start, Day Care, hospice, and the hospital. Mary Lou was for many years an active member of the UCC Congregational of Grinnell, and in her later years she was a member of the Grinnell United Methodist Church. Her hobbies included walking, reading, travel and handwork. The local Sit 'n' Knit group originated in her home in the 1970s. Mary Lou took great pleasure in her friends and her family. In 2012, Mary Lou and Beryl shared the Spirit of Giving award given by the Greater Poweshiek Community Foundation. Mary Lou was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, William Hixson. She is survived by her husband, Beryl, her three children: Anne Clotfelter (John Azzolini) of Ann Arbor, Michigan, David Clotfelter (Lisa Pang) of Taichung, Taiwan, and Susan Schnasse (Rudy Schnasse) of St. Paul, Minnesota, five grandchildren: Elizabeth, David, and Katharine Azzolini, and Daniel Clotfelter and Sarah Clotfelter Lee (Obadiah Lee), two nephews and a niece. A memorial service has been scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday, October 21st, at the Mayflower Community Carman Center. Memorial gifts may be directed to Hospice Grinnell, the Mayflower Community Human Needs Fund, the Fistula Foundation, or Doctors Without Borders.