2019
Mary Agnes (Anderson) Kollath passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at the age of 87 at Rennes-West Nursing Home in Peshtigo, WI after having Alzheimer’s Disease for many years. She was born November 20, 1931 in Flint, MI to Herbert Emil and Irene Agnes (Zimmerman) Anderson. They later moved back to Peshtigo where she graduated from Peshtigo High School in 1949. After that she attended the Marinette County Teacher’s College. Her first teaching position was at the one-room Red School in Grover, WI. After teaching there for several years she went back to college, getting a Bachelor’s degree from UW-Oshkosh and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education from UW-Madison. Following that she taught first grade at Ella Court School in Marinette until it was destroyed by fire. She then became principal and first grade teacher at Merryman School in Marinette. It was while she was there that her fellow teacher and long-time friend, Miss Pat Cleary, would introduce her to John R. Kollath, the nephew of one of the school’s custodians. She and John were married on August 11, 1967 and had two daughters. She left teaching full-time and became a substitute teacher at all of the Marinette elementary schools for many years, where the, where she and her family were very active and involved with their church community. She was also a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma International Society, a professional honor society for women educators. She was very involved in the local chapter and had served in several leadership positions, including being president. Mary Agnes was preceded in death by her parents and in May 2004 by her husband, John. She is survived by her two daughters, Mary Margaret Kollath Branch and her partner, Kevin Grant Jr., of Newbury, VT and Ann Kathleen students “affectionately” referred to her as “Army Boots.” Mary Agnes was a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Marinette Hooper of Sault Ste. Marie, MI as well as her granddaughter, Jennicah Emmaleigh Branch of Newbury, VT and Hanover, NH. She is also survived by her brother, John H. Anderson, of Peshtigo and her nephew, Steve Anderson and his wife, Dana, of Sturgeon Bay, WI. A celebration of Mary Agnes’ life will be held at Hansen-Onion-Martell Funeral Home in Marinette on Monday, October 28, 2019. Calling hours will be from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm with a memorial service immediately following at 2:00 p.m. The Reverend Lee Goodwin will be officiating. Burial will be in Forest Home Cemetery next to her husband. The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff at Rennes West Nursing Home for the great care they gave Mary Agnes in the last years of her life. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation in her honor.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Mary Agnes Kollath 2019.
Hansen-Onion-Martell Funeral Home
Death notice for the town of: Marinette, state: Illinois