Mrs. Louise Jane Lenar's Obituary
Mrs. Louise Jane Lenar, age 96, passed away Tuesday evening September 12, 2017. Louise was born April 22, 1921 to Albert and Anna (Ryczek) Sowa in Muskegon, the eleventh of eighteen children. She grew up in the Lakeside area and attended Bunker School where a music teacher, Miss Cramblett, inspired a lifelong love of classical music. She also spent one year at “Polish School” (St. Michael Catholic School) where she prepared for her First Communion and learned to read and speak Polish. She was forced to quit school at the beginning of her Junior year at Muskegon High School in order to help support the family. She proudly graduated in 1972, the only sibling to do so. In 1950, she married Otto H. Lenar and they spent 57 wonderful years together until his death on February 15, 2008. Louise worked at Anaconda during the war years and later at Hackley/Comerica Bank until her retirement. Louise loved volunteering at Hackley Hospital for more than 30 years, and also at the Frauenthal Center for many years. She was a lifetime communicant of St. Michael the Archangel Church where she was a member of the Rosary-Altar Society. She was also a member of the Catholic Daughters of America. Louise loved her family, rides around the ovals, sunsets on Lake Michigan, walks, playing cards (especially cribbage), and listening to music. She was a big Detroit Tigers fan and was very proud of her Polish heritage. Louise will be missed by her children, Susan, Steven, and Diane (Alan Vliem) Lenar; her sister, Stella Wood; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Otto; sisters, Josephine Moesker, Cecilia Harris, Fannie Berg, Mildred Shanty, Rose Secord, Nellie Tice, Helen Kielbus, Martha Lake, Dolly Stuhan, Mary Ann Johnson; and brothers, Marion, infant brother Joseph, Johnny, Walter, Jack and Frank Sowa. A MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL will be held 11:00 AM Monday, September 18, 2017 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 1716 Sixth St., with Rev. Fr. Phillip A. Sliwinski as Celebrant. VISITATION will be Sunday evening from 6-8pm at The Walburn Chapel, 1547 W. Sherman Blvd. 231-759-8565, with the ROSARY being prayed at 6 PM, and also 1 hour prior to the service at the church. MEMORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS may be made to the Muskegon Catholic Educational Foundation or the Alzheimer’s Association. Share memories with the family at Louise’s online guestbook at www.sytsemafh.com. Special thanks to the staff at Roosevelt Park Nursing Center for their compassion and loving care.
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