Mary Lou (Nemmers) Althoff, 74, of Maquoketa was welcomed into Jesus’ loving arms on Friday evening, November 29. She died unexpectedly and peacefully in her sleep with her husband and daughter nearby.

Friends and family may visit from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road, Dubuque, Iowa.

We will celebrate her life at a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, December 6, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 200 S Vermont St in Maquoketa. There will be an additional visitation held on Friday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. before the mass. Burial will follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery following the mass. 

Mary Lou was born on September 27, 1950, in Dubuque, Iowa to Vince and Louise (Federspiel) Nemmers. Mary Lou attended St. Lawrence school in Otter Creek where she met her future husband in the 1st grade. She tolerated him for the next eight years before going to school at the Visitation in Dubuque. Mary Lou went on to attend Marycrest College in Davenport where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. It was during this time that she fell in love with Kenny.

Mary Lou was united in marriage to her soulmate, Ken, on June 23, 1972, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Key West, Iowa. Shortly thereafter, she began her teaching career in Dubuque, Iowa, before stepping away to devote herself to raising her daughters. After returning to teaching, she continued as a cherished member of the Dubuque Community School District. Throughout her years of teaching, she worked at Kennedy School, Marshall School, Table Mound School, and Eisenhower School. She spent the majority of her career as a Kindergarten teacher, caring for and inspiring countless children with her patience, kindness, and love. She retired in 2014 having successfully taught hundreds of 5-year-olds that, “all of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten.”

In retirement, Mary Lou’s dedication to children and education remained unwavering. She continued to make a difference through substitute teaching and through devoting countless hours to volunteering. Mary Lou especially enjoyed helping at her grandsons' school, where her love for teaching and nurturing young minds shone brightly.

Beyond teaching, Mary Lou spent her time joyfully loving her friends, family, and church. She was a founding member of the Otter Creek Bunco club. She hosted annual Christmas parties for Shelley’s & Tara’s classmates. She spent endless time sewing quilts and donating them to charity. In her lifetime she devoted countless hours to faith sharing groups, TEC, CEW, the Lion’s Den youth group, the Sacred Heart Deliverance music group, sponsoring and mentoring engaged couples, saying the rosary, and being a prayer partner. She loved to clean, write cards, and shop. She also loved to go out to eat with her friends and family and thrived on regular “Girls Day Out” adventures with her special friends, whom she cherished. She loved Jesus and His people with every fiber of her being. Every person who knew her felt deeply loved by her.

Mary Lou’s life was filled with many passions. The most important of her passions was her family, especially her husband, daughters, son-in-law, and grandsons. Throughout their 52 years of marriage Kenny and Mary Lou were inseparable, always supporting one another through life’s ups and downs with a faithful love that reflects God’s love for us. Her grandsons were her pride and joy, and she cherished every moment spent with them, which were many! Her time was well spent because she made an enduring impact on them. 

They will always remember her unforgettable phrases like: call the cats in, many hands make light work, jeekers moses, snazzy, and go suck eggs. From her grandsons’ mouths she is and will always be, “Grandma Lou: the most admirable, miraculously joyful and determined lady, with a radiant and beaming smile, who was kind, patient, and empathetic. She had an unwavering, faithful and devoted love for Jesus. Her sacrificial servant-heartedness was unmatched and she was a persistent prayer warrior who gave the best hugs. She was always present for everything and everyone. Her love for music, our artwork, and our jokes always made us feel so loved.”

Survivors include: her beloved husband, Ken, her daughter Angie (her “baby doll”), her son-in-law Ben, her four grandsons: Caleb (18), Elliott (16), Gabe (14), and Toby (11), and her brother Ron Nemmers.

She was preceded in death by her parents Vince & Louise, her infant brother Roger, her treasured sister Audrey, several wonderful in-laws (Al and Aileen Althoff, Phil Lambe, Ron and Carol Althoff and Loras Delaney), numerous nieces and nephews and her precious and beautiful daughters, Shelley and Tara. We can only imagine what that glorious heavenly reunion was like.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Mary Lou’s name be given to Sacred Heart Church or the Mayo Clinic.