Mary Anne Marchese

Mary Anne Marchese, nee Maurer, born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on March 27, 1925, passed into eternal life on May 18, 2026, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. 

Mary grew up in Glen Ellyn and was the eldest of  8 children. She attended elementary school at Saint Petronille, high school at Glenbard West from 1937 to 1939, then Immaculate Conception, from where she graduated in 1943.  Mary always loved school and was extremely involved.  At this time, there were no sports available to girls except after-school intramurals, for which Mary was the captain of the basketball team. In 1943, because of the war, there was no high school yearbook, so Mary created her own. It is decorated with her unique art and the many awards she received through her participation in the Business Club, the Eucharistic Our Lady and Literature Club, as journalist and cartoonist for the “Eye See” student newspaper, winner of the New World archdiocese poster contest, member of the Fulton Sheen chapter of the Quill and Scroll journalist society, the Glee club, for starring in the school stage comedy “New Fires”, as one of the heads of the Alumni Dance committee, and many, many more. After high school, Mary attended Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa, on an art scholarship. Mary was truly a “Master of All.” 

After college, Mary and her sisters, Carol, Gertrude, and Joan, formed a singing quartet called the Holly Sisters. They would sing at barn dances on Saturday nights and on the radio show, “The Musical Milk Wagon” at 11:00 am on weekdays. After WWII, they would sing for military personnel at hospitals and at the Great Lakes Naval Center, and even had a 6-week engagement at the Palmer House in Chicago. At the age of 21, Mary met a handsome young trumpet player named Andy Marchese. On the road, they started sitting together on the bus, fell in love, and after 5 months, when the band was splitting up, they decided to elope and were married at the Cleveland Cathedral. They moved to an apartment in Pensacola, Florida, where they lived for exactly one day until Mary spotted the infamously large Florida “palmetto bug” (a roach). They moved out the next day. Andy formed the Andy Marchese Orchestra, and Mary was the lead singer. They moved to New Orleans and played endless gigs until Andy decided he wanted to go back to school at DePaul in Chicago, so they moved to Downers Grove, where they lived until 1992 before moving back to her hometown of Glen Ellyn. Mary and Andy raised 8 children, and when all the children were old enough, she worked for three decades at the Downers Grove Post Office, first as a clerk, then in Human Resources. After retiring, she spent hours on her renowned oil paintings, and at age 96, she held her first art show at the Glen Ellyn Public Library. There was nothing she enjoyed more than working on a crossword puzzle, reading, or photographing her family in front of the sunsets at her favorite vacation spot on Elk Lake in Michigan. As she neared the end of her life, she took pleasure in the simple things…visits by family members, Friday night “supperclub”,  listening to a good thunderstorm, and sleeping in. Her home was a place of comfort where a loved one could go to talk about their day, and she was thrilled to listen. 

Mary was a magician of sorts. With eight children, when she was not teaching someone the concept of 3D in geometry by building the figure with sticks, she was showing another child how to do a cartwheel in the backyard. When she was not trying to fix up an old house on the brick streets of Downers Grove and make it a home, she was sewing a cute outfit from scratch (overnight) for someone who had been bullied and needed to make a statement. When she wasn’t sewing tuba covers for the Benet band, she was helping her husband, Andy Marchese, the Benet Band director, write the halftime show, or letting him know what would “really make it exciting.” Mary loved parades and never wanted to miss one. As the Benet band would march down the street, Mary could be seen running behind in support, setting a challenging pace for her adolescent children who were trying to keep up.  When she wasn’t admiring her flowering trees, she was teaching one of the little ones how to read or making sure that one of the older children was doing it.  Dinners were often in a large pot on the stove, made earlier in the day, sitting on a trivet to keep it warm for children coming in from school, practice, the library, play, and all types of activities. Her philosophy was, “Every little star must shine,” and she made sure that all of her children were enrolled in some type of extracurricular activity to find their hidden talent. 

Mary and Andy raised eight children with few resources, but managed to get the most out of the resources that they had. Raising four educators, three dentists, and a judge is a testament to parenting with love, but also with rules. Family loyalty was incredibly important, and remains true today with the scores of grandchildren and great-grandchildren that survive her. Her laugh, smile, and sense of humor will be missed most of all. She was magic!

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Roma (Engelschall) Maurer, her husband of 74 years, Andrew Marchese, her sisters Gertrude Arndt, Joan Jensen, Roma Lopina, Frances McGowan, Carol Craigmile, and her great-grandson Levi Beck. 

She is survived by her brothers Charles (Betsy) and Joseph (the late Joann) Maurer, and scores of nieces and nephews.

Her daughter Lynne (Tony) Adduci, grandchildren Joe (Katie) great-grandchildren, Ellie and Max; grandchild John (Molly), great-grandchildren Patrick, May, Jane and Colleen; granddaughter Anne (Dan) Mayer, great-grandchildren Clare (Anthony) Bucholz and great, great grandsons Peter and Christopher; Gina, Lydia, Lucy, Paul, Danny, Cecelia, John, and Clement; grandson Jim (Helen) and great-grandchildren Anthony, Maria, and Andy; grandson Mike (Kathleen) and great-grandchildren Luke and Jacob; grandsons Tony, Andy, and granddaughters Angela, Grace (Warren) Tait, Mary (Andrew) Sharp, Amy, Belle (Matthew) Kenny, Teresa, Georgie, and Francine. 

Her son Frank (Jeanette) Marchese and grandchildren Nathan (Sarah-Eva) and great-grandchildren Nautica, Millie, Delphine, and Tillie; grandson Nick, and granddaughters Nellie (Dave) Stoneburner and Nini. 

Her daughter Julie (Pete) Schlueter, grandson Chris (Karin), and great-grandchildren Sophia, Charlie, and Olivia; grandson Kurt (Judy), great-grandchildren Juliana and Dean; grandson Scott (Aimee), and great-grandchildren Oliver and Liena. 

Her son Andy Jr (Heidi) Marchese, grandson Andrew III (Megan), and great-grandchildren Evelyn and Vivian; grandson Anthony (Deanna) and great-granddaughters Cecilia and Loretta; grandson Robert (Laura) and great-grandchildren Lucy and Josephine; granddaughter Monica (Luther) Cunningham and great-grandchildren Jack and Blaise;

Her daughter Maryanne (Tom) Minser; grandson Tom, granddaughter Julie (Andy) Koenen, and grandchildren Liam and Nolan; and grandson John.

Her son, Jack (Patti) Marchese; granddaughter Jenny (Brett) Hughes, great-grandchildren Lily, Sadie, and Rosie; grandson Jack Jr. (Aimee) and great-granddaughters Maddie and Claire; and granddaughter Julie (Pat) Leclair and great-granddaughters Avery and Emmy.

Her daughter, Rosemary Orbegoso, and grandchildren, MaryJo (Geoff) Beck, and great-grandson Tate; Carrie (Chris) Wadington, great-granddaughter, Caitlin; Paul and Carmie.

Her son, Paul (Sue) Marchese, and grandchildren, William, Joseph, and Maria. 

Donations to the Saint Petronille Music program are greatly appreciated. Please go to https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZX87/campaign/C-15N2N  

Visitation will be from 5-8 PM on Friday, May 22nd at Leonard Funeral Home, 565 Duane St., Glen Ellyn. Funeral Mass at 9:30 AM the following day (Saturday) at St. Petronille Church, 420 Glenwood Ave., Glen Ellyn. To view mass via live-streaming starting at 9:30 AM CST on Saturday please visit https://www.youtube.com/@saintpetronille9639/streams

Interment to follow next to her husband at St. Michael's Cemetery in Wheaton.