Margery Tuesley

Margery Ellen Tuesley, age 85 years, wife, mother, grandmother, surgical nurse, and member of the ’53 Club died unexpectedly at 8:23 p.m. on Monday, February 24, 2020 with family gathered around in the Emergency Department of Spectrum Lakeland Hospital – Niles, Michigan.

She was born on August 14, 1934 in Niles to Armond and Mary (Nagle) Fries, and graduated with the Class of 1953 from Niles High School.  She completed nursing school in Chicago, Illinois, earning certification as a Registered Nurse.  Back in Niles, she was employed in the office clinics of Dr. John R. Bruni, M.D. and Dr. Elliott before beginning a career as a surgical nurse at Pawating Hospital (now Spectrum Lakeland – Niles).

Margery was a member of the Mapleview Free Methodist Church in Niles and of the ’53 Club – a group of twelve women who began meeting monthly when they graduated from Niles High School and continue that tradition now, sixty-five years later.  She has enjoyed crafts for many years including ceramics, knitting, and crochet, and more recently began completing pages of complex designs in coloring books for adults which consumed boxes of color pencils.  She enjoyed watching for cardinals and hummingbirds at feeders outside her living room window.  She had remarkable collections of souvenir bells and ceramic cows, but her greatest joy was her family.

On June 28, 1980 in the First Presbyterian Church of Niles she married Seth E. Tuesley with whom she celebrated last year the thirty-ninth anniversary of their wedding.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and by a brother, William Fries.

Surviving family includes her husband, Seth Tuesley; her children, Pam (& Larry) Hollis of Niles and Lisa Ellen (& Edmond) Smith of Okemos, Michigan; grandchildren Donté Smith, Mariya Ellen Smith, Savannah Smith, Sarah Hollis, Elisha Hollis, and Seth Hollis; her brother, Wayne (& Barbara) Fries of Fountain, Michigan; sister-in-law Loreen (Mrs. William) Fries of Niles; and several nieces and nephews.

The funeral service for Margery Tuesley will be at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 29, 2020 at the Halbritter-Wickens Funeral Home, 615 East Main Street in Niles with the Rev. Michael Gray, Associate Pastor of Mapleview Church officiating.  Committal will follow at Mission Hills.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Friday at the funeral home. Online condolences may be left at:

www.halbritterwickens.com

Margery enjoyed collecting knick knacks, bird watching, and connecting with life-long friends.  But her greatest joy was the blessings of being a wife, mother, and grandmother.