Mary L. Solberg
Mary L. Solberg was born to eternal life on July 29, surrounded by her family after a 14 year battle with breast cancer. She was born Mary Lou Immel on April 12, 1930 to Arnold and Marguerite (Young) Immel in Fond du Lac, WI. She grew up on the Immel Dairy Farm and Riding stables with her three brothers and two sisters. Her mother died in 1939. She lived under the loving care of Harry and Harriet Calhouette in 1946 and 1947 along with their daughter Kay Mary (Lehmkuhl) whom she loved like a sister. Her senior year she was graciously cared for by Bob and Mabel Williams. She graduated from Fond du Lac High School in 1948. She then worked for the Wisconsin Telephone Company before venturing down to Palm Beach, Florida, Saranac Lake and Long Island, New York and Los Angeles with her lifelong friend Mickey Tasch, to work and enjoy life.
After returning to Fond du Lac, she met the love of her life, Roger Solberg. They were married at St. Joseph’s parsonage in 1959. She started her own Real Estate business in 1967, establishing Real Estate by Solberg as one of the first women owned businesses in Fond du Lac. She retired from Real Estate in 2009.
In the 1970’s she served on the Board of Trustees of Marian College.
She was a past president of the Fond du Lac Realtors Association.
She became an integral part of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, running for State Assembly in 1990 and serving as 6th district chairman for 4 years and Vice Chairman for 4 years. She served as a Delegate to the 1994 Republican National Convention in San Diego and was honored with the Coles Bashford award for lifelong contributions and support of the Party in 1998 and The Alvan Bovay award for outstanding volunteer in her district in 1999.
She was a lifelong member of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church where she was confirmed in 1946 and where she served on the building committee for the new Church on South Main Street. Her love of travel took her and her husband, Roger, to Mexico, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, France and Spain.