Mary Fayant

Mary Jane Fayant, Mindimooyenh “Old Lady”, age 74, of Lawton, OK, formerly of Red Lake, MN, travelled to the spirit world on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lawton.

Mary was born on February 17, 1950, in Red Lake, MN, to Eunice Bedeau and Phillip Sayers. She was raised by her grandmother, Mary Bedeau. She graduated from Riverside Indian School in Anadarko, OK in 1969. She attended college in Chicago, lived in Minneapolis for a time and then moved back to Red Lake.  She married Harold Donnell on January 1, 1978, and they were blessed with six children. They later divorced but remained close friends. She worked as a secretary and later as the Food Service Coordinator for Red Lake Elementary School for many years. In 2016, she moved back to Oklahoma to escape the cold Minnesota winters.

Mary loved to try her luck at the casino, enjoyed going to rummage sales and thrift stores. She and her friend, Velma loved to go berry picking in the summer months. Above all, she loved spending time with her children and grandchildren.

She will be lovingly remembered by: daughters: Neoka Roybal, Linda Donnell, Jill Donnell, Heather (Harley G.) Donnell, Marissa (John B.) Feather, Aiyana Feather; granddaughters: Kiah (Dean P.) McKenzie, Amelia (Chris C.) Sayers, Brooklyn and Sky Roybal, Taco Feather; grandsons: Andrew Donnell, Roderick and Raymond McKenzie, Vincent, Roderick (Angelica), Dezmyn and Kendrick Sayers; great-grandchildren: Loyalty Rae Sayers, Koree Vincent Sayers; aunt, Alberta “Mannie” Norris; siblings: Kathy Dudley, Donna Jourdain, Susie Sayers, Nora Bledsoe, Joyce Sayers, Paula Sayers, June Sayers, Phyllis Pohl, Mark Tony Erickson, Phillip J. Sayers, Daniel Sayers and Ted Thompson; numerous nieces and nephews; as well as many other relatives and friends.

Those greeting her in the spirit world are: her parents; maternal grandparents: Robert and Mary Bedeau;  paternal grandparents, George and Blanche Sayers; the father of her children, Harold Donnell; brothers: Bill Sayers, John Bedeau, Albert Jr, Frank, Clarence Sr., Patrick and Brian Spears; sisters: Gloria and Patsy Spears; son-in-law, Simon Roybal Sr; aunts: Ramona Manuel, Margaret Sayers, Margaret, Bedeau, Nellie Dick, Catherine Burns; uncles: Leonard Sayers, Melvin Bedeau, Lawrence Bedeau.

A traditional wake will begin at 1PM on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the New Red Lake Community Center in Red Lake and continue until the service at 10AM on Sunday, August 4, 2024, with Allen Hardy as spiritual leader. Active pallbearers will be: Roderick Sayers, Roderick McKenzie, Raymond McKenzie, Able Sanchez, Chris Carreno, Dezmyn Sayers, Todd Bedeau, Brandon Bedeau. Honorary pallbearers will be: Vincent Sayers, Kendrick Sayers, Andrew Donnell, Angelica Ramirez, Kathryn “Jodie” Beaulieu, Patricia Neadeau, Sherry May, Sharon Norris, Karen Barrett, Velma Watford, Jade Bedeau, Sonoma Paiz, Nokomis Paiz. Burial will be at the Donnell Family Burial Grounds in Red Lake. Arrangements provided by Whispering Pines Funeral & Cremation Service.

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