Mabel (Blatter) Hein, age 97, of Columbus, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on October 23, 2023, in Yakima, Washington after a short illness.

Mabel was born on June 22, 1926, the daughter of Christian and Elsie (Albright) Blatter, in Dane County, Wisconsin, in the "Sunnyside" Cheese Factory near Mt. Horeb.

Mabel graduated with the Class of 1944 from South Beloit High School.  After moving with her family to the Columbus area, she worked as a private secretary at the Borden Company for five years.  She married August (Augie) Hein on August 24, 1947, at St. John's Lutheran Church, Waterloo, Wisconsin.

She worked at the Columbus Public Library from 1970 to 1990 and served as the Director of the Library from 1978 to 1990.  She was a trained tutor in the Laubach Method and served as an "English as a Second Language" tutor.  Mabel enjoyed reading all varieties of literature, especially historical fiction and biographies, but her favorite author was John Grisham.  She will be remembered as having formed several clubs in Columbus such as the Dot-Dash Homemakers Club, Red Bud Garden Club, Literacy Council, and Friends of the Library.  She was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Columbus where she served as the secretary of the Zion Lutheran Ladies Society for many years.  Mabel retired from the library in 1990, and together with her husband, Augie, they operated The Maple Leaf Bed and Breakfast Inn out of their home until 2000.

In 2017, Mabel made the courageous decision to sell her beloved home on Ludington Street in Columbus and head west with the assistance of her son David and son-in-law Steven.  It was in Yakima, Washington where Mabel spent the final six years of her life in an assisted living community less than 15 minutes from her daughter, Lori, and son-in-law, Steven.  They were six very good and happy years.

Mabel is survived by son David, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, and a daughter Lori (Steven) Kruger of Selah, Washington, plus many nieces, nephews, and friends.  She was preceded in death by her husband Augie in 2011, parents, sister Elsie (Blatter) Ritchie, and brother Stanley Blatter, brother-in-law Gerald Ritchie, and sister-in-law Dorothy Blatter.

A private ceremony and graveside services are planned for the spring of 2024.  Memorials may be directed to the Zion Evangelical Church in Columbus, Wisconsin, or the Columbus Public Library.

We encourage you to share your online condolences with Mabel's family at Jensenfuneralandcremation.com