Mary Ellen Skilling

Mary Ellen Skilling, 87, of St. Louis, fortified in the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church on Saturday, March 18, 2023. Mary Ellen was born on April 19, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to the late Henry Voss and Mary (Williams) Voss Montgomery. On September 28, 1972, she was united in marriage to John “Jack” Skilling and they shared 50 wonderful years of marriage. Mary Ellen was a loving mother of one daughter, Jodi (Adam) Bottchen and cherished grandmother of Aaron Bottchen. She is also survived by a sister-in-law, Barbara “BJ” Skilling, her niece, Rev. Kimberly Skilling, and her nephew, Mark Skilling. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother-in-law, David vanDiest Skilling.

She was a switchboard operator for over 30 years for Union Pacific Railroad and later for Reynolds Metals. She also worked for the Cheshire Hotel and for Reynolds Metals Building Products. She valued hard work and treating all of her coworkers with respect and kindness.

Mary Ellen was an avid reader, enjoyed listening to music, and watching movies and television, especially soap operas and mysteries. She enjoyed relaxing on her porch outside. When she was younger, she enjoyed traveling and was even a hair model in Chicago for a short time. She loved seeing Broadway musicals and going to see Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. perform in Las Vegas. She was an animal lover and always enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels in her yard. However, her biggest love was cats. She adopted several cats during her lifetime, each of whom brought her tremendous joy and comfort.

She was a friendly face and had a smile for all who knew her, supporting and uplifting those around her. She always found the bright side in everything, truly embracing the power of positive thinking. She made friends wherever she went, and was a model on how to treat others. Mary Ellen will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

Visitation will be held on April 3, 2023, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, at 10:00 a.m. with the Funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Mary Ellen’s honor to the Humane Society of Missouri; 1201 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.kriegshausermortuary.com for the Skilling family.