Those who worked with described her as good-natured, reliable, steady, trustworthy, dependable and loyal. Marcelene’s loyalty spilled over from work to Detroit Tigers baseball to University of Michigan football, which made her the target of a good deal of ribbing from Notre Dame fans on staff.
Marcelene began her career as a bookkeeper with Lowe’s Inc. directly out of high school in an office located in a large frame house on the southwest corner of York and O’Keefe streets in Cassopolis. In 1965, the small staff moved to modern, brick and steel corporate offices and PetPak packaging plant in the 35-acre Lowe’s Industrial Park on M-60, and in 1978 the accounting staff moved to the new administrative headquarters in South Bend, Indiana. The sale of the clay absorbent portion of the business October 31, 1990, brought Marcelene full circle to various office locations in the Cassopolis area and Big Rock Valley. She retired in 2002, and co-workers, relatives and friends gathered to celebrate Marcelene’s 40-plus years of dedication and service as a Lowe’s employee. For Marcelene, retirement meant more time to spend with her nieces and nephews and her cat or to sit and read a good book.
“Marcelene was a wonderful example of enjoying the simple things in life,” Don Bauters recalls. “She did her work diligently and was always fun-loving.”