Mary L. Larson is a graduate of Creighton University and received her MBA in 1988 from the University of South Dakota. 

 

In 1976, Mary became the 4th woman Certified Public Accountant in SD.  In 1982, Mary became the first woman president of the Sioux Falls Estate Planning Council.  In 1992, Mary was appointed to the South Dakota Board of Accountancy by then Governor George S. Mickelson.  Mary was honored with the SD CPA Society Distinguished Service award in 1999 and the SD CPA Society Public Service Award in 2002.  She won the national competition for the 2002 AICPA Public Service Award.  April 29, 2003, the day she received the national award, was named “Mary Montoya Day” in South Dakota by Gov. Michael Rounds. Mary retired as a CPA on April 15, 2006.  In 2007, Mary received the first Humanitarian Award from the Sioux Falls Human Relations Commission for her work as a volunteer for the Native American inmates.

She was a past board member of the Beginning Experience International Ministry and of the Eastern South Dakota BD team.  Mary was a co-founder of the Support Group for the Divorced and Widowed sponsored by Catholic Family Services.  In 2005, Mary received the first Fr. Guy Gau Award for her work with the support group.

 

Mary was also a board member of Family Connection and served as president for 2002 and 2003.  Mary was a past member of South Sioux Kiwanis, where she served as president in 1998. She was a long-time treasurer for South Dakota Mensa.  She was a member of the St. Mary’s Conference from 2012-2024 where she also served as president from 2021-2023.

 

Mary has served on numerous other professional and charitable organization boards of directors including South Dakotans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, the St. Vincent de Paul Council in Sioux Falls, where she was the treasurer and Alternatives to Violence where, in 2023, Mary was acknowledged as Lifetime Achievement AVP Facilitaor by the AVP participants at the South Dakota State Penitentiary.  She is a Vicentian, a Benedictine oblate, a member of  St. Mary' Parish in Sioux Falls. and has also served as a CASA voluteer.

 

In June 2000, Mary became a chapel volunteer for the Native Americans at the South Dakota State Penitentiary and served in that capacity to October 2022.  She was part of the team that renovated the chapel in 200-2001.  From 2008-2011, Mary also vounteered at the Minnehaha County Jail for the Native American inmates.  She was honored with the 2002 AICPA Public Service Award for the volunteer work and the 2007 Humanitarian Award from the Sioux Falls Human Relations Commission.  In 2015, she was honored by the Oglala Lakota Nation with the star quilt and given the name "Wawokiye Win" (woman who helps someone in need without asking for anything in return).  She is very interested in racial and cultural reconciliation.

 

Mary has enjoyed being a voluteer her entire life and has wanted to leave the world a better place.  She has especially treasured working with Native Americans throughout the State and in prison to promote racial and cultural reconciliation.  

 

Mary is married to Leonard Johnson and has two children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren from her first marriage.