Mary Louise Melwid

Mary Louise Melwid was born on December 13, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois to Kenneth Reinard and Geraldine Vera Briegel. She entered Heaven peacefully on January 8, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She met and married her husband, Cy Melwid on December 1, 1951 at St. Bernadine’s Catholic Church in Forest Park, Illinois. She graduated in 1951 from Trinity Catholic High School, in River Forest, Illinois, where young women are challenged to seek faith, knowledge and truth. She made many life-long friends there. Mary Lou and Cy went on to create a wonderfully large, loving, close-knit, faith-filled family, raising six children. They were “Grandma Lou” and “Papa Cy” to 24 grandchildren, 27 great grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandchild. They will forever be remembered for the legacy they left – instilling in the entire family the importance of faith and family. In 1961, Mary Lou moved to the then, small town of Bloomington, Indiana, so Cy could open the first McDonald’s Drive In, in the university town. It was a big adjustment for the “Chicago girl” but she managed to thrive joining several philanthropic groups and focusing on raising their 6 children. She made many good friends in Bloomington. Saturday was always a big day in the Melwid home, getting ready for football games. Mary Lou was a wonderful cook, and a great hostess, entertaining family, friends, priests and IU basketball players. Mary Lou was very stylish and elegant, and always dressed well, a picture of style and grace. She had a real sense for fashion and once her children were in school, she began working in women’s boutique dress shops in Bloomington. After moving back to Naperville, Illinois, in 1979, Mary Lou worked as a manager for Marshall Fields & Co., Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale, Illinois, and later at a small boutique children’s clothing store, Children’s Corner, in Naperville, Illinois before retiring. She also spent many years actively involved in and leading her condo association. Mary Lou enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and traveled with them on many family vacations. She was adored and admired by her grandchildren, serving as the matriarch for the Melwid family. She spent many years lovingly caring for her mother and then her husband, as well as her beloved pets. She had a strong faith and was a parishioner of Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Naperville. She will be remembered by her family as a woman of great character, conviction, wisdom, and strength. We know Mary Lou was joyfully welcomed into heaven by her parents, her husband, Cy Melwid, brother, Kenneth Craig Briegel, daughter, Karen Hey, son-in-law, Thomas Mikus, and grandson, Michael Melwid. Mary Lou is survived by her children, Debi (Mike) Ladyman, Lori (Gary) Matney, David (Helen) Melwid, Cyndi (Randy) Mikus-Rosset and Lisa (Tim) Warren, and by her sister, Linda Hayes, as well as her many nieces, nephews and grandchildren. Thank you, Mary Lou, Mom, Aunt Lou, Grandma Lou for leaving your everlasting impact on all of us, especially your devotion to faith and family as well as your grace and strength. We pray that everyone gets to be loved in life like Mary Lou loved us. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the MJM Fund at the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. The MJM Fund is named for Michael J. Melwid and supports causes such as children, animals, and youth development. Donations can be made to the Community Foundation, designated for the MJM Fund, online at https://cfbmc.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1957 or by sending a check to: Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County 100 S. College Avenue, Suite 240 Bloomington, IN 47404 For other types of gifts or ways to support this fund, contact Meagan Niese, Development Director, at 812-333-9016. All gifts made to the Community Foundation are tax-deductible. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 11:00AM CST at Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church, 36 N Ellsworth St. Naperville, Illinois 60540. Burial will follow in the Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. Visitation will be held Wednesday, January 15, 2025 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM EST at Allen Funeral Home and Crematory 4155 South Old State Road 37, Bloomington, Indiana 47401 Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com

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Mary Louise Melwid

December 13, 1933 - January 8, 2025