Maryann E. Amend

MaryAnn E. Amend (nee DeWitt) age 82, passed away on Sunday, March 19, 2023. Wife of the late Fred (ret. CFD). Loving mother of Joe (Nancy), Donna (John), Dan (Debbie) and Pat (Kim). While she loved being a mother, her greatest joy was being the proud Grandma to Mary Kate, Matthew, Dominick, Michael, Tim, Megan and Jordan, and great granddaughter, Lily Mae. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brothers. Mary also had dozens of nieces, nephews and Godchildren.

Mary and Fred were great role models to their children in terms of support and involvement. Mary spent over a decade running Marquette Baseball, from running registrations, drafts and raffles, to coordinating the annual banquet with handmade centerpieces each year. Growing up, the Amend house was a constant source of activity with the PTA, sports, 4-H, and scouting! And boy, did she love to garden! While Fred tended to the vegetables, Mary took care of the flowers, and she delighted in bringing seedlings and sparse sticks to life. She was the faithful provider of snacks and sweets (and anything with whipped cream!), always offering food to anyone she encountered.

She enjoyed being part of her grandchildren’s lives and attending events for them. You could always tell if a card was from her by the elegant handwriting. She was known for giving gifts with elaborate wrapping and decorations, and she never saw a piece of tissue paper she didn’t want to save. In the end, she wasn’t able to shop as well as she once could. This meant more QVC shopping, so their stock is going to take a hit today.

If you are planning to attend any of the services, please make sure to wear something bright or flowery, because she would have been horribly depressed with too much black. And be comfortable; she would want that above anything else. As for flowers, she can’t see them to appreciate them, so please buy some for yourself or a loved one.

She explicitly did not want a funeral Mass, saying, “I’ve spent enough time in a church for this lifetime.” Instead, we will have a service at the funeral home with a few prayers and songs that she selected. Then we will move on to lunch, because she wants to make sure we are all well- fed, just one more time…

Visitation will take place on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home 4727 West 103rd Street, Oak Lawn, Illinois. A Chapel Service will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2023, 10:00 A.M., at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home. Rev. Jamie Deuser officiating. Interment St. Mary Catholic Cemetery.

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