Obituary of Mary Lucia Zupancic

A Memorial Open House will be held on Saturday, September 11 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, at The Cremation Society of Minnesota, St. Paul, 1979 Old Hudson Rd., St. Paul, MN 55119, (651) 212-4030, to remember Mary Zupancic who died on August 21, 2021. A private burial will take place at the Gilbert Cemetery, Gilbert, Minnesota. Mary Lucia Zupancic, 70, of St. Paul, Minnesota was born July 30, 1951, at St. Mary’s Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota, to Louis and Lucija (Belehar) Zupancic. She attended school in Gilbert, Mesabi Community College, and then graduated from the University of Minnesota. Mary worked in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Minnesota for over 40 years using in situ hybridization to find viruses replicating in human and animal tissues. She taught many scientists the technique. In collaboration with a team of researchers at the University of Minnesota, her work was published in respected journals including Science and Nature. She was an avid gardener, animal lover, and photographer. Mary held a special place in her heart for northern Minnesota, the Duluth Harbor with the ships coming and going, Lake Superior and the State Fair. Mary was preceded in death by her parents Louis and Lucija. She is survived by her brother, Louis (Jane Bungum) Zupancic, of Hudson, WI.; nieces, Lydia and Sonja Zupancic; dear friend, Joe Schnide, many cousins and friends. Memorials can be made to The Service Dog Project, Inc., Ipswich, Massachusetts, and the International Wolf Center, Ely, Minnesota.