Mary Alice Liapis, 78, of Bemidji, died Sunday, March 11, 2007, at her home.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Philip's Catholic Church in Bemidji with the Rev. Vincent Miller officiating. A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Friday at Olson-Schwartz Funeral Home of Bemidji and will continue one hour prior to the service Saturday at the church. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery in Bemidji.
Pallbearers will be her grandchildren, Kari Erickson, Stacey Fuchsgruber, Robert Liapis, Kirsten Galloway, Matthew Sjostrom, Neil Sjostrom, Andrea Norenberg and Nathan Norenberg.
She was born on Aug. 6, 1928, to William and Mabel (McGauvran) Giles, in Langdon, N.D. She grew up in Langdon, where she attended St. Alphonsus Catholic School. She moved to Bemidji, where she worked at the Beltrami County Courthouse. She married Robert Liapis on July 24, 1947, in Bemidji. They lived in Bemidji, where she worked as a paralegal for Powell & Dessert Law Firm and then for McRae & McRae Law Firm until her retirement.
She was very active in St. Philip's Catholic Church. She helped develop the St. Philip's Catholic School hot lunch program, was an active member of Circle 3, co-chaired a fund-raising project for North Country Regional Hospital and was a founding member of the Women's Ducks Unlimited organization. In recent years, she enjoyed traveling worldwide following her granddaughters and grandson in their curling endeavors. She loved to read, garden and spend time with her family.
ADVERTISEMENT
She is survived by her son, Michael (Suzanne) Liapis of Bemidji; daughters, Marta (David) Sjostrom of Bemidji and Marye Sue (Todd) Norenberg of Plymouth, Minn.; eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren; sister, Charlotte (Bill) Raeker of Coon Rapids, Minn.; numerous nieces and nephews; and three special friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brothers, Bob Giles, Jim Giles and Joe Giles; and sister, Shirley Shuley.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to a charity of choice.
Online guest book at www.olsonschwartzfuneralhome.com .
