Mary Louise 'Lou' Friedley

HURLEY, Wis. — Mary Louise “Lou” Friedley, 85, a former longtime Ironwood, Mich. resident, died peacefully Sunday, May 12, 2013, surrounded by her loving family, in her apartment at the Villa Vista in Hurley, following a brief illness.

The former Mary Louise Cunningham was born Aug. 10, 1927, in Russell, Iowa, daughter of the late Cecil and Louise (Good) Cunningham. She attended Russell and Boone, Iowa, schools, and graduated from Boone High School in 1944. She then attended Francis Shimer College in Illinois for one year.

Lou resided in Boone and Waterloo, Iowa, Minneapolis, and White Pine, Mich., before moving to Ironwood in 1969, where she was employed as a sales clerk at J.R. Warren Jewelers for several years. She also sold and collected antiques. She was formerly active in the Ironwood Woman’s Club and the Grand View Hospital Auxiliary, and was an avid bridge player. She was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in Ironwood.

On June 1, 1946, she married Robert E. Friedley at the First Methodist Church in Boone. He preceded her in death on March 13, 1974.

Surviving are a son, Jim (Jean), Ironwood Township; two daughters, Becky (Matt) Henderson, Big Bend, Wis., and Jean (Ron) Bertolani, Andover, Minn .; seven grandchildren, Rob (Jen) Friedley and Andy (Dani) Friedley, both of Manitowish Waters, Kimberly Henderson, Hartford, Conn., Colin and Ross Henderson, Big Bend, Eric Skaja, Amboy, Ill., and Taylor Skaja, Andover; four great-grandchildren, Lincoln, Devin, Rylyn and Ellie Friedley, Manitowish Waters; two nieces, Sherry and Lisa; and a brother-in-law, Marlan Andrews, Boone. A sincere thank you to Lou’s daughter-in-law, Jean, for her special friendship and love.

Besides her parents and husband, Lou was preceded in death by a son, Kim, on April 19, 1974; great-granddaughter, Anika Friedley, in 2010; her sister, Jean Andrews, in 1999; and her beloved Labrador retriever, Duke, who was her special companion for many years.

Out of respect for her wishes, cremation has taken place.

A memorial gathering in celebration of Lou’s life will be held Saturday, May 18, from 10 to 11 a.m, at the McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, 305 N. Lowell St., in Ironwood.

Luncheon will follow at Tacconelli’s in downtown Ironwood.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Regional Hospice Services, Inc., 100 S. Mill St., Bessemer MI 49911.

Lou’s obituary can be viewed online and condolences given to her family at mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Ironwood.