Mary J. Konik

Mary Josephine Konik (nee Mulligan), age 79, of Erlanger, Kentucky, formerly of Vermilion, passed away on Monday, March 17, 2003 at St. Luke Hospital in Erlanger, KY from complications associated with heart disease. She was born on March 9, 1924 in White Lake Township, Michigan. Her father William Mulligan, from County Down, Ireland, farmed and raised quarterhorses. Her mother Lula Husted Mulligan raised six children in a house without furnace or running water. In 1945 she married Paul W. Finley with whom she had four children. Following the loss of a daughter, they divorced and she later married Richard F. Konik. With her husband, she owned the Steakhouse Restraint on Lake Road in Vermilion and later an excavating business. In 1967, Mary and Richard helped to create the Lucy Idol Center for severely handicapped adults. It was a favorite cause all their lives. In the 1970s Mary completed coursework in sociology at the Huron campus of Bowling Green State University. She also took up genealogical research. She was known among local historians for discovering and helping to preserve the grave of a Revolutionary war soldier in a neighbor's pasture. In the last year of her life, she was able to travel and see all her family members and greet her new grandson. Her final task in life was teaching her great-grandson the pleasure that meant so much to her, the love of reading. Survivors include her daughter, Kathleen Boyle of Erlanger, KY; sons, Patrick G. Finley of Laverne, CA, Michael C. Finley of St. Paul, MN, Brian D. Finley of Atascadero, CA and Richard Konik of Cleveland; grandchildren, Jami, John, Daniele, Jon, K.C., Tanya, Jacob, Marc, John, Maurissa and Seantelle; siblings, Craig, Robert and Jane. She was preceded-in-death by her parents and her brothers, John and Douglas Mulligan. Friends may call on Friday, March 21, 2003 from 1-3 and 7-9 pm at the Riddle Funeral Home, 5345 South Street, Vermilion, Ohio. Services will be held at 9:30am on Saturday, March 22, 2003 at the funeral home. Bishop Scott Engstrom of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Lorain Ward will officiate. Interment will follow in Maple Grove Cemetery, Vermilion. Contributions may be made to the Lucy Idol Center for the Handicapped, P.O. Box 162, Vermilion, Ohio 44089.