Marie DeVillers (Wiesner) was born in Summit, Wisconsin October 7, 1942 and passed June 28, aged 83, in the comfort of her home of 59 years alongside her beloved husband Allan DeVillers.
Loving mother to sons Fredric and Phillip, grateful grandmother to Owen
DeVillers (Phil). Dear sister-in-law to Owen (Kathy) DeVillers. An only child, her mother Anita (Kohl) passed in 2007 and father, Charles Wiesner in 1972.
Marie was a proud Mount Mary University graduate (’64). She taught high school English and biology before raising her two boys. Later, with preteen “helpers” she opened The Baggage Room, a card and gift shop in Sussex’s historic train depot. Her final professional achievement was passing the Series 66 and 7 exams and working as an investment advisor for Offerman & Co. and Hamilton Investments before retiring in 1993.
Passionate about women's rights, in 1978 she took a bus to Washington, D.C to march with the National Organization for Women alongside 100,000 fellow supporters. She served as a Town of Lisbon Supervisor and worked tirelessly on the Parks Committee and was instrumental in developing an unused corner of her neighborhood into the Stone Family Park. A lover of the arts and theater, Marie and Al were lifelong Milwaukee Repertory Theater ticketholders. She spent many summers organizing and setting up Mount Mary’s annual Starving Artists’ show (now Make Art MKE). In her 60s and 70s she volunteered as a docent at the Milwaukee Art Museum – her effusive enjoyment of the arts boundless.
Marie, a southpaw, was a crack tennis player – “5.0 in my day,” a longtime
member of her book club, fabulous cook, avid gardener, and epistolarian, often consulting her unabridged dictionary perched on a lectern in the dining room – “Go look it up!”
She spent a decade volunteering with Milwaukee Achiever Literacy Services, teaching English to the Hispanic community to help them advance in their careers. Marie passed a month shy of their 62nd wedding anniversary, having spent over six decades traveling, adventuring, and making mischief with Al. An adoring dog mom, she outlived five Golden Retrievers: Bear I, II, III, Jake and Rocket.
A special thank you to our 24/7 live-in caregiver, Albert Norkevicius of Good People. Albert was a dedicated aide, supporter, and assistant. Also, a huge shout-out to the crew from Horizon Home Care & Hospice for the outstanding help, gracious support and attentive ear they provided Marie during her last year of life: Cailin Bledsoe – nurse, Danielle – bath aide, Kimberly – social worker, Stephen – chaplain, Hannah – music therapist and Mary – massage therapist.
Visitation on Thursday, July 23rd, 2026 at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home, N84 W17937 Menomonee Ave., Menomonee Falls from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM with a service at 12:30 PM.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Milwaukee Achiever Literacy
Services, that merged with Literacy Services of Wisconsin in 2017
(https://literacyservices.org/) or Voces de la Frontera (https://vdlf.org/donate/).
(Menomonee Ave is under construction and the funeral home main entrance is open for traffic coming westbound from Appleton Ave. but not east bound. There are two other entrances to the Funeral Home. One is on the east side off of Shady Lane and the other is on the southwest side off of Town Hall Rd.)
