Mary Ann Wenzel

Mary Ann Wenzel of Indianapolis, Indiana passed away on December 4, 2021 at the age of 85, surrounded by her family.

She was born May 19, 1936 in Chicago, IL to the late James and Irene Barrett.

Mary Ann is survived by her children Margaret Kovacs (Sandor), Karen Noffsinger (Steve), Peter Wenzel (Katy), grandsons Alex Kovacs, Colin Weigel, and Ian Weigel. Also surviving are her sisters Patricia (Thomas) Englund, Kathleen (Daniel) Carroll, Jean (Doniver) Ahlm, and brother Michael (Joanne) Barrett.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Jim Barrett, husband Gerald, and daughter, Jean Wenzel.

Mary Ann was born and raised as the eldest of six in a traditional Irish-Catholic family on Chicago’s north side.  Her father was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame but, during the Great Depression, worked as a milkman with a horse drawn wagon until the eve of World War II, when he became a manager at the Continental Can Company.  Her mother worked as an elementary school teacher.

Mary Ann graduated from St. Scholastica High School in 1954 and then proceeded on to St. Anne’s Hospital School of Nursing in Chicago, graduating with a nursing degree in 1957. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from University of St. Francis in 1988.

Having the extra confidence and spunk of a first born, Mary Ann and a classmate once decided to borrow a car and drive to Canada one long weekend, not telling her parents in advance. They ran out of money on the return in Michigan. There they intended to borrow money from an aunt & uncle to continue back.  Unfortunately, the couple was away for the weekend. But as luck would have it, the next-door neighbor spotted them at the house and knew the couple well. She offered to loan Mary Ann the money to get home.  When asked if she got into trouble for the trip, she wryly said “no”, but that her mother didn’t speak to her much for a few weeks.

Mary Ann was still in nursing school when at a party in Chicago in 1956, she met Gerald Wenzel, just weeks after his discharge from active duty in the US Marine Corps. Years before the movie Wedding Crashers, Mary Ann humorously told about how she, Gerald, and a second couple would often crash wedding receptions, and how they responded when their cover was blown.  The couple married in May 1957, and after Gerald’s coaching/teaching stops in Detroit and St. Henry, Ohio, settled in Chesterton, IN, in 1960.  There they would remain, through 50 years of marriage and Gerald’s death in 2007.

Mary Ann was a registered nurse and worked at Porter Memorial Hospital and as a school nurse and later Nurse Administrator for the Duneland School system.  After retirement, she returned to work part-time at the Westchester Public Library for many years.  An avid reader from childhood, this was Mary Ann’s FUN job.  Upon retirement, Mary Ann volunteered in hospice.

Both Mary Ann and Gerald travelled extensively in their later years, often visiting family, scattered throughout the USA and loved her trips to visit family in Ireland.  In all, Mary Ann visited 49 of 50 states; The Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, England, and Thailand.

Mary Ann loved reading and being part of a book club. She relished living close to Lake Michigan and enjoying the Indiana Dunes; and loved her dog, Addie. Mary Ann had a passion for education and was a big encouragement to her children and friends to advance their education.

Private Services are being held. Mary Ann will be laid to rest in Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Evanston, Illinois.