Mary Magdalene Schoenberg, 92, of Burlington, died Jan. 9, 2026, at Aurora Medical Center in Burlington.
Mary was born May 24, 1933, to John and Magdalene (née Schlitz) Meyers in Brighton. She grew up on the family farm, attended school in Brighton, and lived and worked in Brighton and Kenosha prior to her marriage. On Sept. 7, 1957, she and Harold Schoenberg (her “one and only”) were married at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Brighton. They raised their family and operated a dairy farm in Spring Prairie for more than 35 years until retiring and moving to Burlington in 1993. They had been married for more than 64 years when Harold passed away in 2022.
From early on, Mary’s greatest joy was family. She was the fifth of 13 siblings and often talked fondly about helping raise her younger brothers and sisters. She treasured time spent with her children and especially loved being a grandmother and great-grandmother. Mary was an avid reader and liked sharing her many books. She found pleasure and solace in music, and in her younger years enjoyed dancing. Over the years, Mary expressed her creativity through sewing, baking, and hand painting home and holiday decorations. She had a strong connection to nature, which she nurtured through gardening (paying special attention to her lilac bushes), bird and wildlife watching, and long walks on the farm and later in town. In her later years, Mary traveled more to visit family and friends, enjoyed gatherings with her siblings and cousins and at her church, and savored chances to reminisce and share stories.
Mary is survived by her children, Dan (Connie) Schoenberg, Louann Schoenberg, Ed (Jill) Schoenberg, Al (Paula) Schoenberg, Jeanine (Don) Cowan, Lynne (Mike) McCluskey, and Joe (Shannon) Schoenberg; her grandchildren, Jessica (Brad) Soots, Lea (Dale) Kowalewski, Josh (Samantha) Schoenberg, Nick (Meg) Litwitz, Lauren McCluskey, Alyssa Cowan (Nick Burrows), Austin (Emily) Schoenberg, Shawn McCluskey (Megan Lipstreuer), Brooke Schoenberg (Beau Bathery), Spencer Schoenberg, Zach Cowan, Sam Schoenberg and Camille Schoenberg; her great-grandchildren, Charlie, Sawyer, Liam, Emerson, Iris, Nolan, Corbin, Harlow, and Ainsley; her step-granddaughters, Katie (Chase) Scott and Valerie (Alex) Belfor with their children, Liam and Riley, and William and Andrew; her sisters Dorothea Ehlen, Gerry Ehlen, Joan Nield and Jean Leffelman; brothers Ray Meyers and Ken Meyers; and her sister-in-law, Judy Meyers.
Mary was preceded by her parents; her husband, Harold; her son-in-law, Ed Litwitz; sisters Lucille Ambrose and Kathleen Howe; brothers Jack Meyers, Robert Meyers, Clarence Meyers, and Don Meyers; sisters-in-law Margie Meyers, Nancy Meyers, Dorothy Meyers, Kathy Meyers, Virginia Held and Florence Schoenberg; and brothers-in-law Gilbert Ambrose, Eugene Ehlen, Bob Ehlen, Bob Howe, Tom Nield, Chuck Leffelman, LaVerne “Bud” Schoenberg and Leroy Held.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 441 Conkey St., Burlington, with private burial afterward. A celebration of Mary’s life will follow from 1 until 3:30 p.m. at Integrity Celebrations Center, 2789 Browns Lake Drive, Burlington.
Services have been entrusted to Integrity Funeral Services. For online condolences, please visit www.integrityfunerals.net.