MARY LOU CAMPBELL, age 93,
of Berne, IN, and formerly of St. Marys and New Bremen, Ohio, died on Monday, June 14, 2021 at 11:42 A.M. at Swiss Village in Berne, where she had resided since 2012. She was born on June 23, 1927 in New Bremen, Ohio the daughter of the late Herbert F. and Leona H. (Kettler) Donnerberg. On October 25, 1947, she married Paul Campbell and celebrated 54 years together before his death on April 6, 2002. Surviving are her daughters: Linda (Larry) McMullen of Geneva, IN; Pauline Lee of St. Marys, OH; Jeanne (Brice) Miller of Ft. Collins, CO; her 10 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren (with one on the way), her sisters Donna Nagel of St. Marys, OH; and Catherine “Katy” Jones of Springfield; and a sister in-law Miriam “Mim” Donnerberg of St. Marys, OH. Along with her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by a grandson, and her siblings: Betty Bergman-Philpot, Dorothy Feltman, James Donnerberg, Virginia Sweigart, and an infant brother Don Donnerberg.
Mary Lou was a former member of St. Paul U.C.C. in St. Marys and New Bremen. She had worked at the former Vanderhorst Canning Company in St. Marys many summers where she peeled blanched tomatoes prior to them being canned. She also worked in the plant at Goodyear in St. Marys for many years before her retirement. She was known to be a busy body, always working and taking care of her family. In her younger years, she enjoyed riding motorcycle with her husband and friends, and taking fishing trips and picnic lunches with her family. She and Paul enjoyed traveling with the family in their camper, seeing much of the continental United States. She enjoyed keeping busy by quilting, sewing, tending to her vegetable garden, and doing numerous crafts over the years.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, June 23, 2021 beginning at 11:00 A.M. at Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen with Rev. Becky Erb Strang officiating. Interment will follow in the Elm Grove Cemetery in St. Marys. There will be one hour of visitation prior to the services at the funeral home from 10:00-11:00 A.M. Memorial contributions to honor Mary Lou’s life can be made to the Samaritan Fund at Swiss Village (1350 W. Main Street, Berne, IN 46711) or to Visiting Nurses Hospice (108 S. Jefferson Street, Berne, IN 46711). Gilberg-Hartwig Funeral Home in New Bremen has been entrusted with the arrangements, and online condolences to the family can be left on the funeral home website at www.gilberghartwigfh.com.