Mary Lou (Breidenbach) Apicella was born May 24, 1935, in Tiffin, Ohio, to Albert Joseph Breidenbach and Helen Margaret McElfish. She grew up in Tiffin and easily made friends throughout the years. After graduating from Calvert High School, Mary Lou began working as a switchboard operator and eventually became a service assistant for Ohio Bell. She enjoyed going dancing with friends. She met Antonio Apicella dancing one night and they married on June 16,1956, at St Joseph's Church, Tiffin. In 2021 she moved from Tiffin to live in Duluth, MN, with her daughter and family.

Mary Lou had several hobbies. She loved playing cards, enjoyed arranging flowers, creating crafts, reading, and painting. Interior design was a passion of hers as well. She was always rearranging furniture and painting rooms. Mary also loved to sing and listen to music. She often sang her favorite songs around the house and kept up with some of the pop music on the radio to add to her list of favorites. While her children were in school, she rarely missed a Columbian High School football game or parade so that she could listen to her children in the band.

Mary Lou was very proud of her four children and their families. She absolutely adored when her children came to visit or when she was able to visit them. Her family was incredibly fond of her scalloped potatoes and requested them every time the family was together. No one has ever seemed to be able to reproduce them as excellently as she did. She also had a way of making everyone feel welcome at her house.

She was an animal lover and we had several household pets as children. Her most recent pets were the two dogs at her daughter's house. One was even born on her birthday, which she loved to tell people,

Mary Lou held several jobs after her daughters left for college. She spent many years as a waitress and/or hostess for restaurants throughout Tiffin. She spent some time working in retail and volunteered in the gift shop at Mercy Hospital.

In 2013, Mary Lou was diagnosed with Good Pasture's Disease, which destroyed her kidneys and part of her lungs. She was a warrior, living 11 years on dialysis and 3 years on full-time oxygen. She only gave in when given another difficult diagnosis just prior to her death. She died peacefully at Solvay Hospice House in Duluth, MN, with her oldest daughter and her granddaughter by her side.

Her family is grateful for all the people near and far who inspired her life and helped keep her laughing.

Mary is survived by her daughters, Dawn (Skip) Silvestrini of Duluth, MN and Kim Apicella (Jimmy Whitecotton) of St Louis, MO; sons Eugene (Valerie Fox) Apicella of Valley Center, CA and David (Janet Wise) Apicella of Tiffin, OH; her grandchildren, Michael (Briana Beck) Silvestrini of Robbinsdale, MN and Nicole Silvestrini, of Duluth, MN; her great-grandson, Oscar Jones, of Shrewsbury, England, and his mother, Kerri Jones, of Shrewsbury, England: and her grand-dogs, Dizzy and Splash.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Eugene Breidenbach; her father, Albert Breidenbach; her mother, Helen (McElfish) Breidenbach; and her husband, Antonio Apicella.

A celebration of her life will be held at St. Mary's Church on Friday, Nov. 8, at 10:00 AM. A reception will follow in St. Mary's School.

In lieu of flowers, Mary Lou asked that donations be made to one of the following charities ,Wounded Warriors, The Good Pasture's Syndrome American Kidney Fund, The National Kidney Association or The American Cancer Society.

Hoffmann-Gottfried-Mack Funeral Home & Crematory is assisting the family with arrangements.

Condolences may be sent and the guestbook signed at www.hgmackfuneralhome.com.