Mary Louise Addington (1942-2026)

She was born in Milwaukee in 1942 to Robert E. and Mercedes Scott (nee Maloney). She was the third of six children. She grew up in Milwaukee with three brothers and two sisters.

She was very active as a child playing with her siblings, and she often called herself a tomboy as a child. She would reminisce about playing baseball and ice skating at the park in winter. She was known to be a Green Bay Packers fan but she was also a fan of baseball in Milwaukee. She remembered when the Braves were in Milwaukee and recalled going to the county stadium. A fond memory of hers was when she met Hank Aaron at a gathering at someone’s house. She remembers him being shy and standing alone at the party.

Mary attended Washington High School, where she became a fan of Elvis Presley, writing his name all over her notebooks. After school, she would help out at the post office where her father worked as a postal clerk, and she looked back at those times fondly.

She studied at Washington High before graduating as class valedictorian from cosmetology school in Milwaukee. It is while she was working as a beautician in Milwaukee that she met Charles J. Frechette through his sister, Barbara Frechette-Kelley, who was also working in Milwaukee at the time. They married in April of 1966 at St. Anthony Catholic Church in Neopit, Wis.

Mary and Charlie built a home in Keshena, Wis., on the Menominee Indian Reservation. Together they had five children: Ann (Myke) Forstrom, Barb Frechette, Charlie (Jean) Frechette, Julie Frechette, and Mary (Jeremy) Henschel.

In the mid- to late 1970s, the Frechette family moved from Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula. Mary was a stay-at-home mother while Charles worked in lumber sales.

After her divorce from Charles, she went back to work, and one of the companies she worked for was sewing at the Les Brown Chair factory. Her ex-husband, Charles Frechette, passed away in June 1997. She did marry again, years later in June 2005, to James Addington, and she became a stepmother to his three adult children — Luanne (Roy) Guiliani, Jane (Mark) Priniski, and son John “Jack” (Bill Carroll) Addington — and stepgrandmother to their children.

They lived in Norway until his death in 2009. At the time they met, she was working at the Norway Senior Center. They enjoyed going out to eat on Fish Fridays and spending their time at family functions with their children and grandchildren. Mary dearly loved her family and she enjoyed bird watching, especially the northern cardinal. Her home was adorned with cardinal decor and figurines. She was particularly fond of her Irish heritage, and if there was a musical activity at the nursing home, she would request “When Irish Eyes are Smiling.”

In her later years, Mary moved back to Wisconsin to be near her children and grandchildren. She has resided at a nursing home in Fond du Lac since 2023. Mary was a very strong and tough woman, perhaps due to her Irish, Scottish and German heritage. She took care of her children and supported and believed in them. Much of who they are today is because of her influence.

Mary was raised a Catholic and attended St. Sebastian Church in Milwaukee. She was a devoted Catholic, and she had a love for the Blessed Mother. When she prayed for others, she would say the Our Lady of Loreto prayer.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents; her two older brothers, Robert (Debra) Scott and Thomas Scott; her husband, James Addington; granddaughter Keshena Neuens; and stepson-in-law Roy Guiliani.

Mary is survived by her sisters, Sally (Chuck) Magestro and Elizabeth (John) Dietrich; and her brother, William (Linda) Scott. She is also survived by her children; stepchildren; grandchildren Valerie (Dylan) Ladwig, Tony Flood, Chase and Bryce Neuens, Rhys and Erik Frechette, Samantha Sparks, Keaton and Danica Snyder, Scarlet and Mya Henschel; and great-grandchildren Levi, Riley and Asher Frechette, and Dexter Ladwig.

She will be cremated and buried next to her late husband, Jim Addington.

There will be a graveside service 11 a.m. on Friday, June 12, at Norway Township Cemetery.