Mary Lou Michnovicz
Mary Lou Michnovicz, 91, passed away quietly at home on Saturday, March 9, 2019. She was born on May 15, 1927 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, the granddaughter of Maria "Agatha" Dorotea Garcia and William Frank, and the daughter of Maria "Mary" Frank and John Maloney. Her father, John, was a railroad telegraph operator and her mother, Mary, who graduated from New Mexico Normal College, was a kindergarten teacher.
Soon after high school graduation Mary Lou was recruited to work in the secret town of Los Alamos. The work was not as she expected and when she complained to her grandma that she wanted to go home, her grandma told her to give it two weeks. Soon she reported the she didn’t want to leave because there were so many GIs who wanted to take her and her friends dancing! She worked as a clerk in the grocery store, in the motor pool where she learned to drive a 2-Ton Truck, and in the personnel office.
Mary Lou met Johnny "Mike" Michnovicz on Valentine’s Day in 1947. When Mike transferred to the Sandia Laboratory, he proposed marriage and Mary Lou moved to Albuquerque and also worked at the Lab. They married on November 13, 1948. The first of thirteen children, Michael, was born a year later and was soon followed by Toni, Andy and Maria. When Mary Lou was expecting her 5th child she and Mike built a home in the new Our Lady of Fatima Parish area in Albuquerque’s Northeast Heights. Jon was born and over the next ten years David, Stephanie, Mark, Paula, Karla, Matthew, Patrick and Margaret Ann followed.
Not long after the birth of her youngest child, Mary Lou became a St. Joseph Hospital Auxiliary member and staffed the information desk. Soon she was making hundreds of Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls every year for the Hospital’s bazaar. Over the next 30 years she served in the gift shop, Coffee Garden, Telecare parties and as Auxiliary President and logged thousands of volunteer hours.
Mary Lou constantly opened her home to cousins, grandchildren, and her children’s friends. When Polish refugees arrived in Albuquerque in the early 1980’s Mary Lou fed and clothed them and provided transportation. She also joined the Sister Cities Foundation, traveling to Germany and Japan and helped host Sister City events in Albuquerque.
And most of all she loved quilting. Mary Lou was an accomplished quilt maker. She gave all of her children several quilts and always had a quilt ready at the birth of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Mary Lou donated her creations to various charitable organizations including Casa Angelica and UNM Children’s Hospital and headed the New Mexico Quilter’s Association Community Service Committee for several years.
For the last seven years Mary Lou was an active member at New Heart, a special place of friendship and fitness and where she will be missed. She is survived by all of her 13 children, their spouses, 22 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, with four more due this year. She was preceded in death by her husband Mike, who died in 2005. Mary Lou will be remembered for her strong spirit, her concern for her family and love for all who crossed her path.
A remembrance service and rosary will take place at 10:00 am on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at Our Lady of Fatima Church, 4020 Lomas Blvd. NE, in Albuquerque. A private burial will be held at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Felix Pantry in Rio Rancho, 505-891-8075 or stfelixpantry.org.