The Ruzicka family is saddened to announce the passing of Mary Ann (Jelinek) Ruzicka, age 98, of New Buffalo, Michigan. She passed away peacefully on April 10, 2025, just three months shy of her 99th birthday, at Franciscan Hospital in Michigan City.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Sommerfeld Chapel in New Buffalo. Friends and loved ones wishing to share a message of condolence may do so by visiting www.sommerfeldchapel.com.
Mary Ann was born on July 19,1926, in the Jelinek’s family home near Elston Avenue on Chicago’s Northwest Side, to the late Louis and Marie (Cepelak) Jelinek.
In her early childhood, she was bedridden for twelve months with scarlet fever and rheumatic fever. She overcame both illnesses and went on to graduate from Lucy Flower High School in Chicago in 1944. After attending Wright Junior College, Mary Ann worked in the Loop with some of the nation’s top ENT doctors.
On October 3, 1953, in Chicago, she married the love of her life, Ervin Ruzicka, and moved to New Buffalo. Mary Ann and Ervin enjoyed nearly sixty-one years of marriage until his passing on June 16, 2014. Together, they raised two sons, Corey Ruzicka of Tampa, FL and Marc Ruzicka PhD (Margarita Tascon Gonzalez, PhD) of Dublin, CA. Mary Ann was a dedicated and loving wife and mother, who was always present and involved in events that included: New Buffalo School PTA, band candy manager, homeroom holiday mother, field trip chaperon, Cub Scouts, and college drop-offs/pickups. She budgeted the money during the year so we could take an annual vacation driving somewhere in the USA. She was the heart of the family, and the one who made sure every detail was completed.
Mary Ann cherished her daughter-in-law, Margarita, who grew up in Spain and became a professional ballerina. Mary Ann is a proud and loving grandmother to Fabian, Dario and Azahara. She spent the past fifteen years saving diligently to establish college trust funds for each of them. Her grandchildren were her greatest joy.
Mary Ann also shared a special ninety-four-year sisterhood with her surviving sister, Velma (Jelinek) Kain of Glenview, IL. Aunt Velma said they always got along and never had an argument. Mary Ann was preceded in death by her older sister, Lillian Jelinek, brother-in-law Joseph Kain.
She is survived by her nephews, Joseph (Bonnie) Kain and their daughter Sarah, and Jeffrey (Melissa Ploshay) Kain and Jeff’s son Ryan (Hannah) Kain.
Beyond her family, Mary Ann’s great passion was the New Buffalo Township Library, where she served faithfully on the Library Board for twenty years, from 1992 to 2012. Her twenty-year plaque is proudly displayed in the Local History Room of the library. In a 2012 Harbor Country article marking her retirement, she encouraged the community to support the new library project:
“I hope everyone will vote for the new library. There is so much we can do for adults and children. It says so much about the community. We have a fantastic new school. Now, we can have a fantastic new library,” she said.
Mary Ann deeply valued the library staff, calling them a “terrific group of workers who are always seeking out the latest and the best.” She loved sharing a story about a visitor from New York, who, with an armful of books, told her that New Buffalo had the “nicest library she’d ever been in, and the clerks are fantastic.”
Mary Ann also held a sixty-four-year love for life in the Riviera neighborhood, where each morning she would gaze out at the beautiful Galien River and the wetlands. She always said she had “the best view of any house in Harbor Country.” In addition to the Library Board, she dedicated more than twenty years serving on the Riviera Homeowners Association Board, where she was instrumental in saving Riviera’s marsh property from commercial development.
Private funeral services will be held, and her final resting place will be Pine Grove Cemetery in New Buffalo. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to the Children’s Department of the New Buffalo Township Library.
Years ago on Mother’s Day, son Marc sent her a card that read: “There have been many famous moms that have come into our house over the years on TV-like June Cleaver and Carol Brady-but only one is, and always will be, the Number One Mom-Mary Ann Ruzicka.”
Service Details
Interment
Where
Pine Grove Cemetery
Address
New Buffalo , MI 49117
Posted On: Tuesday, May 13, 2025 3:09 PM
