Mary Ann Fries

Mary Ann Fries
August 28, 1931 – January 23, 2024

Mary Ann Fries, 92, of West Salem, WI and formerly of Tomah passed away Tuesday, Jan 23, 2024 at Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. She was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, and great-great grandmother, who will be dearly missed.

Mary Ann was born Aug 28, 1931, in Springfield, IL, the oldest daughter of Vincent and Jennie Aiello. She grew up in the Springfield and Peoria, IL area where she worked in her parent’s restaurants. While working at the soda fountain, she met the love of her life Douglas L Fries. They were married Dec 30, 1950, at St. Joseph’s Church in Peoria, IL. They enjoyed almost 65 years together until Doug passed away in 2015.

Mary Ann and Doug moved to Wisconsin in 1960 and purchased a dairy farm in the Tomah/Norwalk area. She was a devoted homemaker, raising her children, gardening, home canning, and helping on the farm. Mary Ann was also the office manager for the silo and feeding equipment business they operated. She was an exceptional cook and was especially known for her delicious Italian lasagna and spaghetti and meat balls. Mary Ann and Doug enjoyed traveling and took many trips to visit family and friends. They loved their trips to Branson where they enjoyed a variety of music shows, especially Daniel O’Donnell. Along with Mary Ann’s collection of carousels and angels, she had an impressive spoon collection acquired from her various travels. She loved living in West Salem, where she spent many hours working in her daughter’s business, scrapbooking products and prepping for shipments. She learned Roku streaming quickly and loved to listen often to her favorite big band music and Perry Como. She could surf the channels like no other, but when she discovered foreign movies with subtitles she was hooked and so were her visitors.

She is survived by five children, Vickie Fries of West Salem, Douglas A. (Mary) Fries of Norwalk, Darren (Dixie) Fries of Tomah, Jennie Worman of West Salem, and Tony (Dodee) Fries of Cashton; Grandchildren Corey (Karen) Williams, Christopher Williams, Nathan (Tracey) Fries, Nicholas (Abie) Fries, Rachel (Frank) Glodowski, Crystal Fries, Jackie (Eric) Williams, Jessie, Mathew, Travis, and Ashley Fries; Great-grandchildren Timothy (Meranda) Calkins, Corey (Natalie) Williams Jr, Cameron, Spencer, and Preston Williams, Brian Fries and Wyatt Fries; Great-great grandchild, Ellie Williams.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Vincent (Buzzy) Aiello, sister Josephine Townsend, husband Douglas, eldest son Vincent Fries, and son-in-law Richard Worman.

The family would like to thank Gundersen Palliative and Hospice Care as well as Dr. Michael Case and Dr. Tiffany Marinier for their support and compassionate care of our mother. May she rest in eternal peace. 2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

A memorial gathering will be held on Feb 10, 2024 from 1 to 4 PM in the Whispering Pines Community room at Mary Ann’s apartment building located at 780 East Ave, West Salem, WI.  A private family burial will take place at a later date at the Mount Vernon cemetery in Tomah. Schumacher-Kish Funeral and Cremation Services of La Crosse, WI is assisting the family.