Mary A. Esveldt

Iron Mountain Mary A. Esveldt, 84, of Iron Mountain, died Thursday, November 23, 2017 at Appleton Medical Center with her family by her side. Mary was born February 17, 1933, daughter of the late Sol and Evelyn (La Forge) Beauparlant. Mary was the baby of the family and in her own words, “was blessed with loving parents, a strong family, and good friends.” She graduated from Iron Mountain High School in 1951, where she hung with her ‘gang’, the DDS (top secret club). After high school, Mary attended Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee. She transferred to Michigan State University, where she earned a degree in elementary education and met her future husband of over 50 years, Robert Esveldt, who died in 2008. Mary taught kindergarten in the Detroit area and in 1963, Mary and Bob moved back to Iron Mountain to raise their family. An avid reader, Mary was a librarian at the Dickinson County Library for many years. In her younger days, she taught swimming and was an experienced downhill skier. She sang in the chorus in high school, but was advised to “sing from the heart.” (i.e. lip sync). She was a golfer, bridge player, and loved to travel. Although Mary was a three-time breast cancer survivor, she faced her biggest challenge over the last several years battling Alzheimer’s disease. Our family would like to thank the staff at Touchmark in Appleton for the loving care they provided our mother. Anyone who knew her was in awe of her fighting spirit and her determination to remain independent. Mary is survived by her daughters, Karen (Samuel) Houston of Niceville, FL, Celeste Johnson of Chicago, IL, and Jan (Vishal) Sharma of Appleton, WI, son, James (Sarah) Esveldt of Oconomowoc, WI; a sister, Joan (Louis) Pucci of Iron Mountain, MI; and her grandchildren, Christopher and Catherine Houston, Hannah Johnson, Brian Ivacko and Carrie (Brett) Gerner, and Joel, Zoe and Drew Esveldt. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert; her son, Peter John; and brothers and sisters, Celeste, Paul, Jackie, Anne, and Peter. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in Mary’s name at alz.org/gmc Visitation will be on Monday, Nov.27th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Erickson Rochon Nash funeral home. Funeral services will be at 11:00am on Tuesday, Nov. 28th at St. Mary & St Joseph Church in Iron Mountain. Fr. Janusz Romanek will offer the Mass of Christian burial. Burial will be in Iron Mountain Cemetery Park. Condolences to the family of Mary Esveldt may be expressed online at www.ernashfuneralhomes.com The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the arrangements.

Mary A. Esveldt

February 17, 1933 - November 23, 2017