Mary Magdelene Reska Onken

On June 13, 2016, Mary left this life to spend eternity in the arms of God.  She died peacefully at Oakwood Hospital, Dearborn, Michigan, surrounded by loving family, after a brief illness.

Mary was born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 11, 1930, to Anthony Reska and Cecilia Reska (nee Niedzialkiewicz), eventually one of seven children in a close-knit happy family.  She graduated from St. Alphonses High School, Dearborn, Michigan, where she was known for her singing and acting.  After graduation, Mary worked as a secretary at the Ford Motor Company, where she noticed a handsome up-and-comer named John Onken.  (She joined the ski club to get to know him better.  It worked!)  John and Mary wed in 1952, were blessed with four children, and shared their lives until John's death in 2007.

Their early married years saw them active together in local community theatre—Mary mostly on stage and John behind the scenes, and they maintained decades-long friendships with their fellow thespians.  In 1971 John accepted a foreign assignment, and the family moved to Mexico for four years. In the '80s, after all their children were grown, Mary and John moved to Essex, England, for a three-year posting.  In addition to living abroad, the two traveled extensively—across the continental U.S. and Canada, to Alaska, all over Europe, and even to Africa! After her husband died, Mary moved into an apartment in the Henry Ford Village and continued to travel, meeting new people and exploring new places.

Beautiful, passionate, and quick-witted, Mary was a natural athlete—a prize-winning bowler into her 40s, she learned to golf in her 50s and continued playing into her 70s.  A wicked bridge player, she also enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles, and playing Sudoku and solitaire.  A devout and regular Roman Catholic communicant all her life, Mary came to experience a rich personal relationship with Jesus later in life through encountering Him in a small group Bible study.  She was unabashedly proud of her children and their spouses and delighted in her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mary was predeceased by beloved husband John, her parents, her half-brother Edward and half-sister Irene, and her brothers Raymond and Joseph.  She is survived by sisters Therese Smith of Port Orange, Florida, and Patricia Burch of Morrisville, North Carolina; by her daughter Diane Kirkman and her husband Scott of Camden, Maine; son Brian Onken, his wife Susan, of Simpsonville (Greenville), South Carolina, and their children Christopher and Kirsten; son Steven Onken, his wife Janice, of Annapolis, Maryland, and their children Jeffrey Onken (wife Lauren and son Everett) and Heather Clark (husband Daniel, children Wesley and Josephine); and Irene Pizzimenti and her husband John, of Dearborn, Michigan, and their daughters Anna, Teresa, and Christina; as well as her sisters-in-law Mary (Onken) Styrt, of Baltimore, Maryland, Jane Onken of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Mary Reska of Jackson, Michigan; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation with the family will be Thursday, June 16, 5-9 p.m., at Howe-Peterson Funeral Home, 22546 Michigan Ave., Dearborn, Michigan.  There will be a gathering Friday, June 17, at 10 a.m., followed at 10:30 by a funeral Mass at Henry Ford Village, 15101 Ford Rd., Dearborn, Michigan.

The family expresses heartfelt appreciation to the capable and compassionate staff at Oakwood Hospital who cared for Mary in her last days.