Mary Louise (Baudoin) Patnaude, age 95 of Grand Rapids, MN, died peacefully at home on Sunday, September 8, 2024, surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She had a great sense of humor and will be remembered for her easy laugh and lovely singing voice. She will be missed by the large family she loved so dearly.

Mary Lou was born in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota on April 15, 1929, to Walter and Catherine Baudoin. The eldest daughter of a farm family, she attended a one-room schoolhouse through the eighth grade. She attended Blooming Prairie High School for one year before transferring to Bethlehem Academy, a Catholic boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota.

Mary Lou was a born music teacher. As a young girl, she enjoyed teaching her younger sisters (Honey, Catherine, and Connie) the popular songs of the day, which she accompanied at the piano. Years into their adulthood, the sisters would recall their parts and share the music sitting around the piano at the farm.

After graduating from the College of St. Teresa in 1950, Mary Lou accepted her first teaching position in Oak Creek, Colorado where she worked for three years. Wanting to move closer to home, she taught in Morris, MN for one year before moving to Grand Rapids, MN to teach music in the junior high school. It was there that she met the art teacher down the hall, Reuben Patnaude, who she married on December 27, 1958.

Mary Lou and Reuben were a great team. Mary Lou stayed home for 10 years until Mary Ellen, Catherine, Carolyn, Paul, and Ann Louise were old enough to go to school. She resumed part-time teaching at Central, Balsam, Warba, and St. Joseph elementary schools to help make ends meet. Reuben often commented on Mary Lou's work ethic, organization, and frugal nature and was willing to hand over his paycheck and even the extra money he made from selling paintings. They enjoyed gardening, time at the lake, and were both active parishioners at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, where Mary Lou played organ and piano until the age of 90. Together, they enriched the Grand Rapids community through their respective talents.

Mary Lou had a deep love for family and appreciated frequent phone calls and visits from her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and extended family. In the final years of her life, Mary Lou received loving in-home care by daughter Catherine and granddaughter, Amanda, whose baby daughter, Cora, gave her many laughs.

She is preceded in death by daughter Carolyn Therese (1983) and husband Reuben (2015), and is survived by one sister (Constance Nelson); four children - Mary Ellen (Mike Haupert), Catherine (Steve Olds), Paul (Michele), and Ann Louise (Orrin Sechter, deceased); 15 grandchildren – Carolyn Drazich, Matt Haupert, Madeline Haupert, Louise Haupert, Josh Olds, Amanda Klev, Katie DuBois, Brooke Olds, Megan Olds, Claire Patnaude, Ryan Patnaude, James Sechter, Rachel Sechter, and Aaron Sechter; eight great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews who remained in contact with her until the end of her life.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 PM on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Grand Rapids, MN, with visitation one hour prior to the Mass in the gathering space of the church. Interment will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Coleraine, MN, immediately following the luncheon.

Memorials can be made to St. Joseph's Catholic School in Grand Rapids, MN.