Mary Elizabeth (Trtan) Nantell

Hurley, Wis. — Mary Elizabeth (Trtan) Nantell, 97, of Hurley, passed away on Dec. 13, 2019, at the Villa Maria Rehabilitation Center.

Mary was born in Ironwood, Mich., on Nov. 30, 1922, to George and Jennie (Perkovich) Trtan.  She attended Newport Elementary and Luther L. Wright High School, graduating with the class of 1941.

Mary was united in marriage to Wilbur (Bill) Nantell in the chapel at Camp White, an army training base, in Medford, Oregon. Following their marriage and Bill’s deployment to the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater during WWII, Mary relocated to Milwaukee, where she worked as a crane operator for Kearney and Trucker, a defense factory supplying defense materials to various branches of the military.

After the war Mary and Bill returned to Ironwood and started their family. Like many young newlyweds during this time, life was a struggle. Bill found work in the local mines, and Mary worked at JC Penney. Mary enjoyed her family, friends, dances, coffee klatches, card parties, and family outings and was a passionate fan of football, particularly the Green Bay Packers.

With Mary’s beautiful singing voice, she joined the Gogebic Tamburitzas, a Croatian singing and dancing group, that traveled and performed in various cities, also making a record album of the music celebrating the Croatian culture and heritage.

Mary was a devout member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church and Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Jennie Trtan; husband, Bill; brother, George; sister, Ann; and daughter-in-law, Judith Nantell.

Mary is survived by three children, Carolyn (Gary) Nichols, Garden Grove, CA; Jerry (Linda) Nantell, Indio, Calif .; Bill Nantell, Stevens Point; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Beverly Trtan, Fond du Lac; cousins, Peter Perkovich, Mississauga, Ontario and Julia (Perlich) Rosa, Hurley; and nieces and nephews.

Memorial services for Mary will be held in the spring.

McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home is assisting the family. For more information or to express online condolences, mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com.