Mary Jane (Pagel) Storm, 76, died Dec. 26, 2015, with family holding her hands at the home of her daughter, in Rice Lake, WI, after losing a hard fought battle to COPD and lung cancer.
Born March 23, 1939, in Wausau, WI, she grew up on a farm in the Town of Corning, just outside Merrill, WI. She worked for the Fromm family farm, picking berries and then ginseng roots, before babysitting for the family. She also worked at the Merrill glove factory and at the Marathon Cheese factory in Marathon.
She later lived in Rhinelander, WI, where she worked at Pinewood Lodge, DeByle’s and Fuller’s Furniture store. In 1973, she earned her GED. She also lived in Crandon, where she owned the Log Cabin Café for 17 years and The Menagerie, a whatnot shop. She retired in the mid-1990s and lived year-round in Coolidge, AZ, since 1997.
She is preceded in death by an infant brother; her parents, Martin and Ruth (Berndt) Pagel; a great grandson, Mason Pagel; and her beloved boy, Eldred Pagel. Survivors include her brother Gary of Mansfield, MO; daughter-in-law, Irene Pagel of Crandon; five daughters, Theresa (David) Marvin of Crandon, Sheila (Hector) Storm Bustamante of Corona de Tucson, AZ, Anita (Tim) Soley of Rice Lake, Carla Storm of Merrill, and Patti Storm of St. Paul, MN. She also is survived by 17 grandchildren, Tim (Steph) Pagel, with whom she shared a birthday and her strong political views, Mike Pagel, Heather Pagel, Greg (Kim) Pagel, Rick (Tami) Marvin, Dale Marvin, Randy Marvin, Tori (Casey) Falkner, Erica Lebakken, Sydney Soley, Lauren Soley, Sam Soley, Ashley (AJ) Wiza, August Van Zile, JaCe Van Zile, Kristina Linde and Cheyenne Linde. She is further survived by 18 great grandchildren; cousins; nieces and many lifetime friends. Mom was so thankful for all the family and friends who traveled to Rice Lake to see and visit with her these last months.
The family would like to recognize Mayo Clinic Health System and Hospice of Eau Claire, for their wonderful support and assistance.
A celebration of life will be at May’s Bar, in Crandon, on Saturday, Jan. 2, from 1-4 pm, with a toast to Mary at 3 p.m.
In lieu of cards, Mary would have wanted donations to go to your favorite veteran’s organization, hospice organization or the American Cancer Society. Mary chose to donate her body to a whole body donor research program.