Mary Ann Chladek

Mary Ann was born in Omaha, Nebraska on March 2, 1939.

She grew up in Plattsmouth and went to St. John's for grade school education. She graduated from Mercy HS in Omaha, class of 1957. She married Gary F. Chladek in 1960 and attended one year of college. When Gary became an officer in the US Army in 1961, she became a full-time Army wife, spending time doing civil servant jobs when otherwise not caring for daughter Joanie who came along in 1961, and son Jeff who came along a couple of years later. The third son, Jay, came along in 1970, six years to the day after Gary qualified for a Purple Heart. At Gary's side, the family spent numerous deployments to Army bases in the USA and overseas before Gary retired in 1983, moving most of the family to Omaha.

Mary Ann pursued and received a Nursing Degree from the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) in the early 1980s and performed nursing duties at minor medical clinics in both San Antonio, TX, and Omaha, NE before working as an outpatient surgical recovery nurse at Methodist hospital during the 1990s. During this time, Gary and Mary Ann became business owners of Dibble's Hobby Shop in San Antonio, TX with day-to-day operations being managed by Jeff and Joanie. That shop, one of the oldest in the USA, continues to run to this day.

Shortly after Gary became a permanent deacon in the Catholic Church in 2001, Mary Ann began working for "A Woman's Touch" a pregnancy counseling service in Bellevue, NE as both a counselor and an ultrasound technician. At this job, Mary Ann probably got the most personal and spiritual satisfaction. She credits her time at "A Woman's Touch" with saving numerous infant and family lives until she retired from that job in 2014.

Since 2014, Mary Ann maintained a close relationship with Saint Bernadette Catholic church, volunteering to help out during several events as part of the parish's Alter Society. Her youngest son, Jay, acted as Mary Ann's liaison and caregiver after Gary passed away on New Year's Eve in 2017.

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband Deacon Gary Chladek; parents John and Clara (Weber) Bergmann; brothers Francis,  John Francis, and Edward Bergmann; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Richard and Beverly Jean (Mruz) Chladek; son-in-law Greg Regets; niece Suzanne Bergmann.

She is survived by children Joan K. Chladek, Jeffrey J. (Cheryl) Chladek, and Jay M. Chladek; and sister Joan Bergmann (Kenneth) Aylor.

In lieu of flowers, Donations can be made on Mary Ann's behalf to either St. Bernadette Catholic Church or the Nebraska Right to Life organization.