Mary Maday

Mary Celia (Kedziora) Maday, age 98, of Alexandria, MN, died on Wednesday, February 18, 2009. She was born February 11, 1911, on a farm near Deerfield, MN, to Vincent and Veronica (Schreiber) Kedziora and was 11th of 18 children. At 2 weeks old, she was moved on a hay wagon to Owatonna, MN. At age 12, she became responsible for baking the bread for the entire family and for helping her older sisters care for their homes. She attended Owatonna schools. Through her brothers she meet her future husband. On April 14, 1931 she married Paul David Maday from East Chain, MN, at St. Hyacinth Catholic Church in Owatonna, MN. Three children were born to the couple. They lived in many South Central Minnesota towns, finally settling in Owatonna. Mary had many work experiences including youth residence supervisor, candy maker, dinner cook, chef, apartment manager, and restaurant owner. She had a very green thumb and raised many houseplants and each year a huge garden. She had an eye for style and did much home decorating. She also did a lot of embroidery, crocheting, knitting and tailoring. In 1993 she moved to Alexandria, MN. She lived alone in her apartment carrying out all of her cleaning, shopping, banking, and errands by herself until December 5, 2008, at the age of 97. She performed many public services including chairing church committees, treasurer for a church organization, and a volunteer at nursing homes. She was preceded in death by a daughter, Mary Lou Wilms, who died in 1961; by her husband, Paul Maday, who died in 1987; by her parents, and by all of her siblings. She is survived by 2 children, David Maday (Diane) of Alexandria, and LaVonne Peyrot of La Jolla, CA; 5 grandchildren, Becky Blackham of San Diego, CA, Stacie (Carl) Koch of Milwaukee, WI, Paul S. (Brenda) Maday of Alexandria, Chris (Wayne) Wieberdink of Alexandria, and Christopher (Laura) Wilms, Sr., of West End, NC; and 12 great grandchildren. She will be remembered for her independence, her many capabilities, and her plucky attitude towards life. A Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Alexandria by Rev. Father Fred Fink on Tuesday, February 24, 2009. Mary was buried at Calvary Cemetery, Faribault, MN, next to her husband. Honorary pallbearers were all of Mary?s great grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were with Anderson Funeral Home of Alexandria, MN.