Visitation with the Friedley family will be held at FCC on Friday, Sept. 3rd from 6-8 pm (Lucas Hall). A memorial service will be held in the FCC sanctuary on Saturday, Sept. 4th.

Mary Lou Friedley, age 76, loving wife of George, 744 Tall Grass Lane, Plymouth, WI, passed away Tuesday morning, August 3, 2010 at St. Nicholas Hospital, after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer and the related kidney problems.
Mary Lou was born June 15, 1934 in South English, Iowa. She was the 7th child of Bessie (Brubaker) Dobbins (Howard deceased 1933).
Following graduation from North English High School in 1952, she continued her education at Iowa State Teachers College, now the University of Northern Iowa. In 1956 she received a BA with a major in Music.
Mary Lou began her career as an elementary music teacher in the Sheboygan Public School System at Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln Schools. She worked with Esther Friedley, George’s mother. Through this connection, George and Mary Lou courted, fell in love, and were married on August 6, 1960 at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Waterloo, IA. Mary Lou had been the featured soprano soloist at this church during her college years. Following their wedding, the couple resided in Sheboygan.
Music was always at the forefront of Mary Lou’s life. She directed the children’s choir and sang in the senior choir at Zion UCC where she was also a frequent soloist.
Dear to her heart was her involvement in organizing a choral group at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center at the request of Ruth Kohler. That choral organization lives on as the Lakeshore Chorale to this day. She was also involved in the Community Concerts Association as both President and Membership Chairman for many years.
As her children grew, Mary Lou worked as a receptionist and insurance coordinator for several local doctors. She was a member of First Congregational Church, UCC, AAUW, and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.
In addition to being an avid SCRABBLE and bridge player, Mary Lou loved visiting with her seven grandchildren and watching the hummingbirds on her deck.
Mary Lou is survived by her husband, George; three children, Gretchen (Paul) Steck of Havertown, PA and their three children, Katie, Kara and Drew; Geoffrey (Diana) Friedley of Pocatello, ID and their daughter Grace, and Melanie (Patrick) Towle of Ft. Worth, TX and their three children, Alex, Charlie and George; two brothers and three sisters, Kathryn Harley, Melvin Dobbins, Darvin (Sue) Dobbins, Doris (Gil) Fechner, Neva (Jim) Gilliland, and other family members and friends.
In addition to her parents, Mary Lou was preceded in death by a sister, Evelyn Girdner.

A memorial service will be held 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 4 at First Congregational Church, UCC, 310 Bluff Ave., Sheboygan, WI. Visitation will be held at the church on Friday, September 3 from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. Interment will have taken place in Wildwood Cemetery.

A memorial fund has been established in her name to benefit the John Michael Kohler Arts Center or First Congregational Church, UCC.

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