Marion Viola Begalke

Marion Viola Begalke passed away peacefully at the Sharon Richardson Community Hospice on March 14, 2025, after a fall in her apartment resulted in complications common to someone who has managed to reach the ripe old age of 94.
Marion was born to Hilda (nee Schanglies) and Walter Schulz on October 11, 1930, in Sheboygan. She attended St. Paul’s Lutheran School and graduated from Sheboygan North High School. Marion developed a strong interest in music as a teenager, proudly claiming the position of “first cello” in her high school orchestra and joining the Sheboygan Lutheran Chorus at age 17. She participated in several chorus tours to many of the country’s 50 states as well as Canada, Mexico and Central America during the next four years.
In an age where many young women married right after high school, Marion became a career woman for the next 16 years. She began her employment with the R-Way Furniture Company. Later she worked for the Heritage Mutual Insurance Company, now known as Acuity.
After her stint with the Sheboygan Lutheran Chorus ended, she continued singing with the choir at St. Paul’s, and that’s where her romance with widower Elroy Begalke (a well-known local tenor) began. They married on June 5, 1965 – of course at St. Paul’s – and after a honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, she returned to take over stepmother responsibilities for her husband’s two teenage daughters, whom she loved as her own. A much-anticipated son joined the family 15 months later.
Marion’s interests and hobbies changed with the passage of time, though music remained. She bowled, she sewed, she became a very good cook and baker, she went back to work for a while at Biwan and Biwan Accountants, and until not that long ago, she traveled. Before Elroy’s death in 2015, they drove far and wide, took cross-country bus trips, and flew now and then, sometimes internationally (Mexico and Germany). She was always up for eating out at her favorite restaurants, and in her later years she became a devoted fan of “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” as well as a jigsaw puzzle aficionado.
Those who knew her would agree she was in general a soft-spoken, quiet person, but Marion morphed into someone else whenever the Packers were playing. Though she knew virtually nothing about football until son John became a sports fanatic, he taught her the game, and she became a knowledgeable and VERY lively cheerleader for the Green and Gold for the rest of her life. She was even gifted with a Packers Jersey sporting the number “90” when she celebrated that particular birthday out in Utah at her grandson’s wedding, which took place the same day.
Her church and her family were the twin cornerstones of her life. Besides the church choir, she was active in the Altar Guild, the Evangelism Board, the Bell Choir, and the XYZ (Extra Years of Zest) Seniors Group, which was initiated by husband Elroy. As recently as last Christmas, Marion could be seen in her favorite pew at St. Paul’s, belting out all the favorite seasonal carols with unbridled enthusiasm.
She enjoyed getting together with relatives far and near. In recent years, one of the highlights of her life was heading to Algoma – where she and the other two “Schulz Girls” would talk, eat, and puzzle for a “SisterWeekend” to catch up on each other’s lives, accompanied by some of their children.
Marion is survived by daughters Nancy Seeley (Nick Dubeski) and Dawn Schwark (Al); son John (Jo Ellen); grandchildren Christopher (Nellie) and Stephanie Begalke; great-grandson Ezra Begalke; sisters Eleanor Erbelding and Margaret Wilbert; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband Elroy, her sister Beatrice, her infant brother Carl and other relatives.
The funeral will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1810 N. 13th St., Sheboygan on Saturday, April 5, beginning at 11 a.m. Pastor Alan Kretschmar will officiate. Visitation starts at 10 a.m. Lunch will be served at the church after the service. All are invited to come downstairs to join the family for some fellowship and memories.
The family wishes to thank the staff of the Sharon Richardson Community Hospice for exemplary service during Marion’s final days. Memorials are welcome to St. Paul’s and Sharon Richardson.