I’m sure there are quite a few of you who do not know this cousin. Mary Jane was the daughter of Cleve and Mabel Peltier. She is my first cousin once removed; one of the last of my Dad’s first cousins. Sadly, Mary Jane passed away April 1, 2024 at 92 years old. She loved family history and willingly shared it. I have a few pictures of her for you to look at, and I’ve also included her obituary. She will be missed!
Mary Jane Meis passed away peacefully with family by her side early Monday morning, April 1, 2024. She had a wonderful, extended life to love her family and friends.
Mary Jane was preceded in death by her high school sweetheart and husband of 63 years, Bob, son-in-law Bob Eichten, parents Cleveland and Mabel (Erhardt) Peltier, and sister Carol Peltier. She is survived by her children and their spouses – Diane Schuweiler (Lew), Sharon Eichten, Jim Meis (Kathy Zehnder), Robin Kleinendorst (Gary), Mark Meis (Terri) and Steve Meis (Kathy).
Mary Jane has 16 grandchildren: Lisa Schuweiler Montgomery (Jordan), Brian Schuweiler (Carmen), Courtney Kleinendorst Silvan (Mike), Meredith Eichten (Kevin Anhut), Stacey Kleinendorst, John Eichten (Leah), Lauren Meis Wilkinson (Jay), Brad Meis (Acacia Perkins), Nikki Kleinendorst Hanson (Brice), Garret Kleinendorst, Jake Meis, Natalie Eichten-Burns (Randy Burns), Kacey Meis Scapanski (Christian), Hailey Meis, Ellie Meis and Ryan Meis.
She was also great-grandma to Julia and Jack Montgomery, Robert and Madeleine Schuweiler, Mitch and Caroline Silvan, McKenna and Nash Meis, Liam, Emilia and Marshall Hanson.
Mary Jane attended Harding High School and graduated in 1949. Mary Jane and Bob were married August 18, 1951 at Sacred Heart Church in St. Paul. They lived on the eastside of St. Paul until they built a home in Pine Springs in 1986. They were longtime parishioners of Blessed Sacrament Church.
Following high school, she worked for American Hoist & Derrick and 3M in the secretarial pools before taking up her true calling as a star homemaker in the 50’s and 60’s.
Dad was in sales and traveled more than 50 percent of the time. This made Mary Jane a single mother of 6 children for a significant part of our growing up years. Beyond the family, she was an incredibly involved parent and volunteer. She was a leader for Camp Fire Girls, Cub Scouts and 4H Club. Her participation at church and school included chairing the annual Fun Fest multiple times, holding elected positions with the Home and School Association (PTA) including president and participating as a Eucharistic minister at church.
She enjoyed canning and preserving. A trip to the strawberry fields to pick crates of strawberries for jam and jelly was an annual event. Baking was also a Mary Jane specialty. Christmas cookies needed to be put under lock and key to assure there’d be some left for the holidays.
Mary Jane loved to sew, knit, crochet, and do other needlework. Many years ago, Mary Jane hatched a plan to create wedding gifts for each of her grandchildren: a large, crocheted afghan, hand embroidered dish towels for each day of the week, embroidered pairs of pillow cases, hand towels for every holiday, and a number of other items for each. Little did she know that she would be making 16 afghans, 112 embroidered dish towels, 64 pillow cases, and too many more things to count.
In the mid 70’s Mary Jane began working at Blessed Sacrament School as a Title One tutor which led to a full-time position as the school secretary. She retired in 1996 after 20+ years in that role.
Mary Jane and Bob spent summers going to the cabin on Big Sandy Lake. She loved to travel and enjoyed trips throughout the US from when she was young into her retirement years.
While mom had physical challenges over the past few years, her mind was sharp and she stayed sassy as ever…
Thanks for visiting, come back soon,
Cynthia
© 2024 Copyright by Cynthia Vadnais, All Rights Reserved
She will be missed. My parents Floyd and JoAnn kept up with her in later years. I remember her parents Uncle Cleve and Aunt Mabel. They made a point to visit my Aunt Avis’s house every Easter while we were there. Easter at Aunt Avis’s was a family tradition. Cousin Mary Jane attended my Grandmother Vivian Peltier’s 100th birthday party back in 2016. That was the last time I was able to chat with her.