Mary Alice Rieder, 94 of Monroe, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
She was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin March 29, 1928 to Gustave and Ida Loretta (Arseneau) Graham. Mary Alice excelled in music and academics, and played and sang lead roles in high school theater productions. She earned a scholarship to the UW-Madison School of Music where she met Robert Henry Rieder, a violinist from Monroe who, as President of the University Orchestra in 1950, collaborated in Mary Alice’s Senior recital performance of Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto. Following graduation, she was named a Wisconsin scholar, earning a Masters degree in piano performance in 1951. A gifted soprano, that same year she garnered the School of Music’s best vocal performance award for an appearance with the UW Concert Band.
Mary Alice married Bob in 1952 and settled in Monroe, where Bob had begun his managerial career at The Monroe Clinic. A respected performer, teacher and accompanist, Mary Alice maintained a private piano and voice studio for forty years. A faithful member of St. Victor’s Catholic Church, and for some years of St. Joseph’s Parish in Phoenix, she served as a volunteer parish and hospital chapel organist and musician for fifty years.
She and Bob shared a commitment to community service, starting with the Jaycees/Jaycettes in the 1950’s, with Mary Alice finishing as piano accompanist and honorary member of Kiwanis in the ‘90’s. Mary Alice served as president of Monroe’s first nursery school. She was a performing member of the Lida Ludlow Reading Club and one of five original incorporators of MAAC (now MAC), serving as its Board secretary, on its program committee and as a performer. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. During retirement she served as secretary for the Phoenix condominium association where she and Bob were winter residents. In later years, she enjoyed working as a staff volunteer at The Monroe Clinic Gift Shop.
Mary Alice was a devoted, supportive and loving wife and mother; a skilled seamstress, an outstanding cook and an exemplary homemaker. Always gracious and thoughtful, with a ‘can-do’ approach and an artistic eye, she generously shared her vitality and verve for living with all who knew her.
Preceded in death by her beloved husband Bob and by her brother George, Mary Alice is survived by her three children who will miss her dearly: Mary Joy (Michael Peroz) of Eagan, Minnesota; Robert W. (Anita) and their children, Gillian and Nathalie, of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and Richard M. (Connie) of Monroe, as well as eight nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to gratefully acknowledge the fine medical staff of The Monroe Clinic, and the devoted personnel of Aster Assisted Living and St. Croix Hospice for their attentive care of our mother.
Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 12:00 p.m., at St. Clare of Assisi Parish at St. Victor Catholic Church with Father Tafadzwa Kushamba officiating. Interment will follow in Calvary Cemetery, Monroe. Visitation will be at the church on Wednesday, April 20, from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service. Memorials are suggested to St. Clare of Assisi Parish Holy Ground Capital Campaign or Monroe Arts Center, The Gunderson-Stiles Fund for Classical Music. The NEWCOMER FUNERAL HOME, Monroe, is assisting the family. Condolences may be shared at www.newcomerfuneralhome.net
