Funeral services for Mary Ellen O’Leary, of Albert Lea, will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday at St. Theodore Catholic Church, Albert Lea. The Rev. James Berning and Deacon Mike Ellis will officiate. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Newry Township. Visitation will be from 5 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea, with a Rosary and time for sharing at 6:30 p.m.

Mary Ellen O’Leary, 86, passed away May 2, 2007, in Albert Lea. She was born Jan. 1, 1921, in Twin Lakes to Jerome Callahan and Margaret Cunningham Callahan. The family moved to the Geneva/Bath area in 1928 when their home was destroyed by a tornado. Mary Ellen graduated from Ellendale High School in 1941. After high school, Mary Ellen worked at the Clarks Grove Post Office and the Clarks Grove Grocery Store.

In 1943 she married Robert O’Leary at St. Aidan’s Catholic Church in Bath Township. She and her husband were very proud that they were both of Irish-Catholic heritage&8217;s. Mary Ellen and Bob wanted a large family and Mary Ellen gave birth to five daughters and six sons in a span of 17 years; from 1944 to 1961. They raised their 11 children north of Albert Lea on 92 acres. Their lives were evolved around their children and giving them a solid Catholic education. Religion and family life intertwined closely with the O’Leary clan. Many evenings after supper, the family knelt down together before the dishes were washed and put away to recite the rosary.

Bob and Mary Ellen sent their children to St. Theodore’s and St. Mary’s Catholic School. Attending mass was a must every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. Mary Ellen held several offices at St. Theodore’s Catholic Church including president of the Rosary Society, and deanery president, for the Winona Council of Catholic Women. She received the Pope’s Medal of Honor for her many years of service delivering communion to those that were home bound and in nursing homes.

Mary Ellen took her job as matriarch of the family seriously. She loved to bake, cook and entertain. Guests would show up uninvited and another plate or two was set at the table without any fuss. Streams of visitors came through her kitchen door, mornings, afternoons and evenings. No one was a stranger or hungry for long when he or she crossed paths with Mary Ellen O’Leary. Mary Ellen’s home was a safe haven for those seeking refuge. She enjoyed visiting others as much as she enjoyed having visitors. She especially liked visiting elderly cousins and aunts and took her young children with her on these visits. Along with her love of cooking and entertaining, she sewed clothing for her children when they were young.

As her children grew older and moved around the world, Mary Ellen visited them. She went to Ireland several times, and also traveled to England, Nicaragua, Rome and throughout the United States.

She is survived by her sister, Ann Agnes Casterton, brother, Phil Callahan, sisters-in-law Betty Callahan, Doris Callahan and Violet Callahan. Her surviving children are Pat O’Leary, wife Trudy, St. Paul, Joann O’Leary, husband John Sommerville, St. Anthony Village, Dan O’Leary, wife Peggy, Eureka, Calif., Steve O’Leary, Minneapolis, Sheila Donnelly, Albert Lea, Mary O’Leary, husband Donald Oneglia, Arcata, Calif., Tim O’Leary, wife Sarah, Arcata, Calif., Kevin O’Leary, Greencastle, Ireland, daughter-in-law, Judy Ramos O’Leary, Washington, D.C., sons-in-law, Edgar Macias, Miami, Fla. and Adrian Clift, St. Anthony Village. Mary Ellen has 25 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Bob O’Leary and children, Geraldine Macias, John O’Leary and Kate O’Leary, and brothers, Ed Callahan, Bob Callahan and Pat Callahan.