Mary Anne McNeil

 Mary Anne (Holland) McNeil of Dayton MN

Passed peacefully on Sunday November 26, 2023; Wake service will be Dec. 12, 6-9 pm; Dec. 13, Reviewal 9 -11 am, funeral Mass 11 am, interment and lunch, all at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.

Mary Anne McNeil was born of and Peter M. Holland and Emily L. (Lefebvre) Weber on December 16, 1937, on a family farm on the bank of the Crow River in Otsego. When her father Peter died in 1940, her mother moved Mary Anne and her older brother Earl to Elk River to live with an aunt and grandma. In 1946 Emily married Lenard Weber and the family moved to North East Minneapolis. Growing up Mary Anne played with dolls and children’s cupboard, strollers and cribs. She planned for having children and horses and traveling to Europe all of which she eventually did. Mary Anne graduated from St. Margret’s Academy in 1955; there she met many lifelong friends.

Mary Anne first worked for Sun Life Insurance then Northern States Power (NSP). On July 9, 1960 she married Patrick McNeil together they raised a family of four boys in Brooklyn Center. She started working for the Osseo School district in 1977. As a school aid she taught a kindness and self esteem curriculum called “Project Charley”, which she loved. Eventually Mary Anne began studies for a degree in social work. She received and associate degree from North Hennepin CC, a Bachelor Degree from St. Cloud State, and a Masters Degree in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. In 1981 the family moved to Corcoran where Mary Anne tended to gardening, family pets and horses. The horses had a special place in her heart. She worked as a social worker for the Osseo School District then as a Case Worker for Wright County. Both positions she found rewarding and fulfilling. Mary Anne and Pat finally moved to Dayton during her retirement years.

Mary Anne suffered from kidney disease for 30 years. Her Catholic Faith supported her efforts to accept suffering without complaint. She focused on how she could be kind to others and was free with her complements for others. She was active in her parishes felt supported by the people in her communities of faith. She kept in contact with her many relatives. She loved to cook, bake and entertain. She and Pat belonged to a card club for 60 years. Mary Anne enjoyed her many summer and winter trips the family cabin in Boy River MN

Mary Anne is presided in death by father Peter, mother Emily (Lefebvre), brother Earl Holland and husband Pat. She is survived by four sons Mike, Tim, Dan (Amy), Terry; grandchildren Molly, Jacob, Abby and Audrey (mother Sarah).

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