Mrs. Marie Ann Hamel-Hurrell's Obituary
Marie’s Life Story
The heart of a woman is often found in her love of family, and for Marie Hamel (formerly Marie Peplinski) family meant everything. She was also a woman of faith who lived by example. In all she said and did, Marie had a way of placing her special touch on everything. Always there with a clean home, home-cooked meals, and ready to go to a party, Marie will be deeply missed and fondly remembered. Outside the village of Cedar, Michigan, nestled on southwest side of Lake Leelanau in Leelanau County, Bernard and Lucille (Galla) Peplinski welcomed the blessed birth of their precious daughter, Marie Ann on April 22, 1916. Marie’s grandparents were Leo and Weronika (Gerozewska) Peplinski. Using the U.S. Government Homestead Act, Leo and Veronica obtained the farmland free. They had to clear the wooded undeveloped area. They settled with like Poles and all helped each other. The house that Leo Peplinski built still stands and you can still see the “sunrise” trim on the front. Domazi, Frank, Selma, Stanley, Theodore, Martin and Matilda were Bernard’s brothers and sisters. They were a musical family. Grandma Peplinski had an organ. Uncle Martin played the violin and Uncle Stanley played the accordion. Bernard and Lucille (called Lucy at home) had 12 children. Marie was the second oldest. Marie wrote in her memoir that she remembered staying with Grandma Peplinski until “Pa” bought the farm from the French people, Couturiers, on French Rd. There was a house, a barn, a granary, a garage and 80 acres. There was also a smokehouse, and Marie used the smokehouse for a playhouse. But farming was hard work, “out of there, you don’t play, you’ve got work to do” Marie was told by Ma. Marie helped with the babies, and also helped in the fields. She planted potatoes, harvested corn, and washed all the wool socks for the family. She remembers that the kids all went barefoot in the summer, except Sunday. Church was an important part of family life. Marie was a flower girl for Uncle Mike’s wedding when she was 5 years old. She made her first Communion in June 1924 at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. During the winters the children boarded at the Holy Rosary Catholic School. The nuns’ bedrooms were on the second floor. There were about 10-12 beds in the big hall. Each family furnished their own bed, about three in one bed. The girls’ beds were on the first floor and the boys’ were in the basement. Breakfast was at 7:00 a.m. (always oatmeal); lunch at noon and supper at 6:00. In the evening the children had to wash the dishes, play outside (a must) for half-hour, study, prayers, then bed. Weekends were spent at home, then back to school on Monday with fresh supplies using the horses and sleigh. Around May 1 the children would move back home.
One day in June, 1923, “Ma” was baking bread. Flames from the wood-stove chute started the roof shingles on fire and the family home burned to the ground. Marie’s only doll burned in the fire, as well as most of the furniture on the upper floor, and bedding, canned fruit, empty jars, and Pa’s empty cider barrels. There was no fire department. People passing by, neighbors, and relatives would run in and help save what they could. The new house was built in 1924. Lumber came from their own woods, which they had to plane themselves. Pa borrowed a wide scooper/power shovel, used with a horse, from the Road Commission. Ma did all the varnishing. It was a luxury to have a pump in the house and a floor furnace. Electricity didn’t come until 1942. Summers were spent picking cherries, wild strawberries and raspberries. Marie helped to milk the cows, turn the milk separator, and sometimes went fishing with her Dad and Uncle Stanley. Marie’s memoir recounts harvesting hay by hand and the threshing machine, a big event on each farm.
Marie successfully passed the 8th grade County exam. She then worked for resorters in Leland and in Traverse City. When she was 17 she traveled to Chicago and worked for Dr. Nungester and his family doing the cooking, cleaning, and laundry. She loved bike riding and roller skating on Lake Shore Drive. When Dr. Nungester was transferred to Ann Arbor, Marie went with the family. At Mrs. Nungester’s suggestion, Marie started high school when she was 18. She graduated from Ann Arbor High School in 1940. The 1940’s were an exciting time in Ann Arbor. Marie worked at the bomber plant and earned $2.00 per hour. She met and married Nick Yanitsky. The Yanitsky family had a lot of Polish friends and relatives. They went to weddings, dances and had a lot of fun. Nick went to the Service in WWII six weeks after they were married. Annette was born in 1947. The couple separated and divorced after the war in 1948. Marie moved to Muskegon along with her sisters Adeline, Irene, Lillian, and Dorothy, and cousin Clara Czerniak. Through Clara, Marie met Charlie Hamel. Marie and Charlie were married in 1952. Betty Lou was born in 1953. They were happily married until Charlie passed away in October, 1977. Marie traveled extensively after Charlie passed away. She enjoyed a Caribbean Cruise, toured Europe including Poland by bus, and also cruised to the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. She learned how to swim in her late 60’s when she and sister Dorothy joined the YWCA. She also tried cross country skiing. She continued housekeeping in Muskegon, canning fresh fruits every year and enjoying card playing and playing bingo at St. Francis Church. She completed her memoir in 1999, a copy of which is on file in the Leelanau County Museum. She married Leonard (Red) Hurrell when she was 85. They were married for 5 years when Red passed away. Marie and her family were very close and remained so throughout much of their lives, always sharing birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Marie enjoyed photography and delighted in making memory albums throughout her life. She made a photo album for each of her five grandchildren. Marie turned 95 on April 22, 2011. For her 95th birthday she received 117 cards from friends, relatives and family. She passed away 9 days later on May 1, 2011. Marie is survived by her daughters Marie Annette (Douglas) Johnson of Marco Island, Florida; and Betty Lou (Gary) Pleva, of Pentwater, Michigan; five grandchildren: Jill (Khalil) Naamane, Chris Johnson, Stephanie (Adam) Young, Joseph Pleva (fiancee Jenifer Skodack) and Jonathan Pleva; two great grandchildren: Zakaria and Ramzi Naamane; sisters Irene McClary of Grand Haven, Michigan and Theresa (Leonard) Schaub of Lake Leelanau, Michigan; and brother Edward (Bea) Peplinski of Maple City, Michigan; brothers-sisters in-law Clem Skeba, Donald McClary, Doris Peplinski, and Georgianne Peplinski, and several nieces and nephews. Along with her parents, three husbands (Nicholas Yanitsky, Charles Hamel, and Leonard Hurrell), and infant daughter Kathy, Marie was preceded in death by her sisters Winifred Zeits, Dorothy Skeba, Adeline Moore, Lillian McClary, and her brothers Raymond Peplinski, Aloysius Peplinski, Gerald Peplinski, Bernard Peplinski, Jr.; and brothers- sisters in-law Jerome Zeitz, Warren Moore, Joanne Peplinski, Margie Peplinski, and Edwin McClary.
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