Mary Ellen Holschbach

December 18, 1951
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October 10, 2019

Mary Ellen Holschbach, 67, Green Bay resident, passed away peacefully at St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee on Thursday, October 10, 2019.  She was surrounded by her husband, children and grandchildren.

Mary Ellen was born on December 18, 1951, in Manitowoc to the late Kenneth and Beatrice (Steinbrecher) Sieracki. She attended St. Boniface grade school in Manitowoc and graduated from Roncalli High School in 1970.  She attended St. Francis School of Radiologic Technology in Evanston, IL, and worked as an X-ray technologist for 40 years.

Mary Ellen married her best friend and sweetheart since 8th grade, Keith Holschbach, on November 10, 1973 at St. Boniface Catholic Church in Manitowoc. Their 46 years of marriage has served as a model of love, partnership, and parenting for their daughters and countless others.

She worked at hospitals and clinics in Milwaukee and Appleton, and most recently, St. Mary’s Hospital in Green Bay.

Amidst her busy life of work and family, she made time to offer in-home daycare to young mothers in the area and treated those children as her own. She was kind and generous and was an example of love and joy to all who knew her.  She shared a special closeness with her daughters & sisters as her best friends, and with her best friends as her sisters.  She was faith-filled and close to Jesus.

Mary Ellen loved planning and made sure the family never missed the annual outings to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch.  She loved to throw a party and made every Sunday lunch feel like a holiday.  She loved sitcoms, shopping, football, and good food.  Most of all she loved spending time with her family and close friends.  She was a mother figure to so many and was always there to offer advice or just listen without interrupting.  She always made sure people knew how special they were to her, and she will be missed by many.

She is survived by her husband, Deacon Keith Holschbach and their three daughters: Sara (Brad) Curtis; Erin and David Lewis and Jessica and Michael Jarvela; six grandchildren: Emalyn Curtis, Jonas, Savanna and Chloe Lewis; Lily and Jackson Jarvela; four sisters: Karen (Carl)Schema; Patricia (Greg) Kostechka; Nancy (Rick) Balzan and Sue (Mark) Kopidlansky; her mother-in-law, Dorothy (Reed) Holschbach; four sisters-in-law: Mary Konkle; Cindy Holschbach; Jackie (Troy) Anhalt and Bridget (Jim) Kohler; five brothers-in-law: Kent Holschbach; Leon (Debbie) Holschbach; Randy (Ann) Holschbach; Brian Holschbach and Todd (Andrea) Holschbach.

Mary Ellen is also survived by uncles, aunts, numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives and a bunch of the most wonderful friends.

She was preceded in death by her father-in-law, Vernon Holschbach; sister-in-law, Patricia Holschbach and a brother-in-law, Vincent Holschbach.

Friends may call at St. Bernard Catholic Church, 2040 Hillside Lane, after 4:00 pm Thursday with a prayer service at 7:00 pm to conclude the evening, led by Sister Caroline Castellini. Visitation will continue after 10:00 am Friday, at the church until 10:45 am. Funeral Mass 11:00 am with Father Mark Vandersteeg officiating. Burial in the Allouez Catholic Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the Holschbach family at www.prokowall.com.

In lieu of floral expressions, a memorial fund has been established for the work of the Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer in Ghana, West Africa, several of whom are currently serving at Father Carr’s Place 2B in Oshkosh.