Mary Ann Koeller

     Mary Ann (Squires) Tiry Koeller, 93, passed away Thursday, April 21, 2022. She was born April 30, 1928, to George Frank and Odanah Leatha (Brown) Squires.

     Mary Ann was born in the country between Alma Center and Hixton near the Squire home farm, down the road from the cheese factory and the schoolhouse where Bob and Bill started grade school. She went to kindergarten in Black River Falls. On July 5, 1933, her father passed away. In August, they moved to Black River Falls. The family moved into the upstairs of a house on the corner of 4th Street and Main Street across the main street from the Catholic Church. Her family only lived there one month before moving to a small white house across the street from Waterman’s Beauty Shop, which was in their home. The beauty operator and owner was Katherine Waterman. Her husband worked for Standard Oil and they had no children. Mary Ann recalled this because she was five years old at the time and had no one to play with. The family next door was Tim Winings. Their children were Gail, Jean and Bobby. Jean was Bob’s age, Bobby was a couple years older than Mary Ann, and she liked him and said she was going to marry him when she grew up. 

     In August of 1955, she moved to Manawa to help Bob and Nancy with their three sons. Mary Ann worked at Morley Murphy starting in 1968 until her retirement in 2000, 32 and a-half years. At the age of 45, she married Joe Tiry on March 10, 1973. Joe passed away April 26, 1995. Mary Ann became a member of the Koeller family on June 24, 2000, when she married Jim Koeller, who passed briefly after on Aug. 25, 2004.

     She is survived by her brother Bob’s sons and spouses, Tom and Karen Squires, Brian and Susan Squires and Jim Squires; brother Bill’s sons and spouses, Larry and Eileen, Dave and special friend, Jodie, and Rick and Cindy. She is also survived by her adopted daughters, Joanne Athey and Jeannette Schwartz; special cousin, LaVon “Country Mouse” Radar; close cousins, great-nieces and nephew; and great-great- nieces and nephews. 

     Mary Ann was preceded in death by her parents; siblings, Robert “Bob” (Nancy) Squires and Gaylord “Bill” (Chris) Squires; and husbands Joe Tiry and Jim Koeller. 

     Friends and family will gather at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 341 Wilson Ave., Green Bay, WI, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 30. Funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. with Pastor Diane Rew officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery in Black River Falls. To send online condolences, go to www.BlaneyFuneralHome.com. 

     In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Mary Ann’s name.