Mary Ann Cavallin

Mary Ann (Burke) Cavallin, passed away on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at Pine Medical Center surrounded by her family. She was 95 years old. Mary Ann was born on October 14, 1916 to John and Lydia Burke in Nebraska City, Nebraska. She and her older sister, Catherine, were raised by their mom with their grandmothers nearby after they lost her father to tuberculosis when she was just three-years-old. During these hard financial times the girls would help their mother at the canning factory peeling tomatoes for a nickel a bucket. Through out her life her Catholic faith was strong and unwavering. In her early years she attended St. Bernard’s Academy in Nebraska City where she made lifetime friends. She spoke highly of the nuns that helped her form her strong religious foundation. After high school she worked at the local dime store to help put her older sister Catherine through nursing school, and after three years when her sister returned home it was Mary Ann’s turn to travel to Lincoln to attend St. Elizabeth Hospital School of Nursing. It was there that she made lifelong bonds with classmates that they maintained by ‘round robin’ letters and regular reunions. Upon graduation from nursing school in 1940 WW2 had broken out and Mary Ann enlisted in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. She was stationed in Danville, Kentucky and it was there that she met Caleb (Lib) Cavallin, her husband of 65 years. After they married she left the Army and returned to Nebraska City while Lib served at the Panama Canal. When Lib was discharged they reunited and with their son Richard made their first home in Two Harbors, Minnesota. In 1957 the Cavallin family had grown to five children and they moved to Pine City where Lib started a family business, Cavallin Ford. A year later their last child, Ronald, was born. Through good times and bad Mary Ann’s priorities were always clear; faith and family. She was an active member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church and rarely missed a Sunday or Holy Day Mass. Mary Ann cared deeply about each of her family members and took an active interest in their lives. She will be remembered for the many family gatherings at Christmas time, the huge Easter egg hunts with all the grandkids, and the many Sunday picnics and dinners. Her final years were spent at the Pine Medical Center in Sandstone with her special angel, granddaughter Amber, caring for her. She enjoyed frequent visits from her family, especially when the babies came. Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, sister Catharine (Ed) Friede, sister in law Amy (Ed) Humphrey , brother in laws Erland (Alma), David (Marian), Gideon (Helen), Swaney (Margaret), and Joseph, grandson Kevin Peterson, and great-granddaughter Nicole Westman. Funeral services were held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 3rd at Immaculate Conception Church in Pine City. Visitation was Monday, April 2nd from 5-8 p.m., with a prayer service starting at 7:30 p.m., at the Swanson Funeral Chapel in Pine City and one hour prior to the funeral at the church. Interment was in Calvary Catholic Cemetery Pine City.