Mary Ellen Gonzales, 91, a long-time resident of South Beloit IL, died Sunday, October 30, 2016 at Beloit Memorial Hospital.
Mary was born in Lyndon Station, Juneau County, Wisconsin, February 5, 1925, to Frank and Anna (Sullivan) Fitzgerald. She attended County Normal Teacher Training School in New Lisbon in 1942. While attending school, Mary met her husband Henry at a USO dance at Camp McCoy. They wrote letters to one another while Henry was overseas. When he returned after WWII, they were united in marriage on March 3, 1945 in Sacred Heart Church, Reedsburg, WI. The couple moved to South Beloit in 1946.
While raising her three children, Mary was a substitute teacher in the South Beloit School District. She later returned to school and received her Bachelor of Science degree from Rockford College. The South Beloit School District offered her a full time teaching position, and she taught there for over 30 years. Throughout her teaching career, Mary was a firm believer in ensuring that her students had the tools they needed to be successful in life. After her retirement from teaching, she spent some time travelling before she and Henry settled into their retirement. Mary was a devoted mother and grandmother, and her favorite times were spent with her grandchildren
She is survived by her husband Henry Gonzales of South Beloit, IL, her daughter Linda (Donald) Stoikes of Mineral Point, WI, and son Gary (Barbara) Gonzales of Beloit, WI, seven grandchildren; Mike, Kevin, Aimee, Jason, Jenny, Nathaniel and Mathew; 12 great grandchildren; one brother, Michael Fitzgerald of Roscoe, IL; one sister, Lucille Barnes of Mauston, WI, and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by a son Samuel, her parents, and seven siblings.
Funeral services for Mary will be 11:00 a.m. Thursday, November 3, 2016 in St. Thomas Catholic Church, 824 E. Grand Avenue, Beloit, WI. Burial will be in Floral Lawn Cemetery, South Beloit, IL. Visitation will be from 9:45 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the church. Daley Murphy Wisch & Associates Funeral Home and Crematorium, 2355 Cranston Road, Beloit, WI, assisted the family with arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.daleymurphywisch.com