Ann Marie 'Marian' Applegate

ATLANTA, Ill. - Ann Marie "Marian" Applegate, 80, of Atlanta, died Friday, Aug. 8, 2014, at Memorial Medical Center in Springfield, Ill.

Ann Marie was born June 17, 1934, in Bruce Crossing, Mich., the daughter of Paul and Mayme Kemppainen Westerinen.

Ann Marie graduated from Southeastern High School in Detroit in 1951.

She met John in Detroit, who was stationed there in the U.S. Army. She was volunteering for the USO and working at the FBI.

They were married Nov. 19, 1955, at Messiah Lutheran Church in Detroit. Ann Marie and John moved to Atlanta to farm and raise their children. Ann Marie worked at several businesses through the years as a secretary and was an excellent waitress. She also pursued many varied artistic endeavors and was an excellent cook, artist and weaver.

Ann Marie's Finnish heritage was very important to her. She took many trips to Finland over the years to see relatives. Also, her many trips to Salolampi, the Finnish Language Village in Bemidji, Minn., were very enjoyable to her, even though she was already fluent in the language.

Dear to Ann Marie's heart was the place of her childhood home, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Ann Marie and John took their children to the U.P. as often as they could over the years. Spending time in her home in the woods where she was born and at her sister Irene's cottage on Lake Gogebic with all the family members were her favorite things to do.

Ann Marie is survived by her husband, John, Atlanta; a son, David, McLean, Ill .; a daughter, Linda (Tom), Houghton, Mich .; sisters, Irene VanDeVelde, Tavares, Fla., and Pauline (Jack) Forman, San Diego, Calif .; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Richard and Betty Applegate, Atlanta; sisters-in-law, Virginia Freiwald, Clarendon Hills, Ill., Priscilla Archibald, Ojai, Calif., and Phyllis Carlson, Grand Rapids, Mich .; grandsons, Aron Applegate, Bloomington, Ill., Nathan (Erica) Applegate, Lincoln, Ill., and Evan Applegate, Lincoln; special "daughters," Melissa Lee, Lincoln, and Michelle Holmes, Bloomington; many cousins, nieces and nephews, all whom she adored, and special relatives in Finland.

Ann Marie was preceded in death by her parents; a son, Eric; brothers-in-law, Sidney Forman, Oscar VanDeVelde, Albert Applegate, Richard Archibald and Robert Carlson; sister-in-law Phyllis Applegate; and aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial graveside service for Ann Marie is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 18, 2014, at 1 p.m. EDT at the Bruce Crossing Cemetery. Lunch is to follow at Twilly's Restaurant in Bruce Crossing.

A memorial service will also be held in Atlanta at a later date.

Memorials may be made to Salolampi Foundation, P.O. Box 14480, Minneapolis MN 55414-0480. This foundation gives scholarships to children to attend Salolampi Language Village to learn the Finnish language and culture.

Final arrangements have been entrusted with Quiram-Peasley Funeral Home in Atlanta.