Mary A. Guertin

Mary Alice Guertin (nee Lambert), born on September 28, 1942, to James Walter Lambert and Luella Mary Lambert (nee Sangraw), passed peacefully on October 9, 2025. She is preceded in death by one brother, Donald Lambert. She is survived by one brother, Robert Lambert, five children; Cathi Alonzo (husband Gregg, daughter Jena with grandchildren Jasper, Mariah, and Greyson, and son Jeremy), Paul Guertin (wife Elizabeth, daughters Alanna and Emilie), Steve Guertin (wife Vicki, daughters Kayleigh and Olivia, and son Austin), Pamela Lehman (husband John, son Nicholas, and grandson Flynn), Amy Reichert (husband John, daughter Ainsley, and son Samuel), and Wallace Guertin, father of her children.

Mary proudly hails from Manistique in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where she grew up jumping off bridges, swimming in lakes, and playing too close to the train tracks. She lived in New York, Illinois, and finally settled in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where she raised all five children, mostly on her own, with none of them serving jail time (that she knew of). A success by all accounts.

Her family was the center of her life, taking joy in their independence and successes, but mostly the ten grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many granddogs they produced (grandcats were never acknowledged, grandchickens were tolerated).

Mary enjoyed reading, gardening, traveling, golf, racket ball, picking and eating wild blueberries—especially when she could use her five children as free labor, and laughing with friends over one-too-many glasses of wine. She was briefly a beautician (which came in handy when perms were all the rage in the 80s), sold Avon, and worked at JC Penny’s. She enjoyed being part of the Manitowoc Garden Club. Later in life, she worked for many years at the local grocery store where she heard all the gossip, making it difficult for her youngest children to get away with anything.

She attended many wrestling matches, school plays and concerts, swim meets, and any other activity her children were involved in. She sewed costumes and clothes, baked the best crispy chocolate chip cookies, and kept the house way too clean, even when there were five children in it. Her stuffing recipe is a treasured family tradition along with the Christmas chocolate logs.

Independent, strong, and resourceful, family always came first. While she never had a lot, she made sure her family never wanted for anything.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 30 at Evert-Luko Funeral Home, 170 Warren Avenue in Hartland, with a visitation from 2:00 p.m. until the time of service.