Maryellen was born in Chicago on May 6, 1930, the daughter of Joseph and Winnifred (Owens) Schalz. Before she was even a year old, her family moved to Townsend, Wisconsin. There she graduated from Wabeno High School in 1948. On August 30, 1952, she married Carl Gust at Saint Ambrose Catholic Church in Wabeno and they moved to Milwaukee. In 1974, she moved back to Townsend to stay. For a short time there, she and Carl ran her dad's bar "Joe's Bar" in Townsend. Maryellen enjoyed many things in her life. Not one to slow down and happy outdoors, she enjoyed hunting, fishing gardening and tending to her flowers. When the weather would not permit her to be outside she enjoyed woodworking, crafting, and bingo. She even had a dear tag for this year and made it out to hunt once. Most of all, though, she loved her family and the times when they were together. She knew how important they were, and she would always put on Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, even when the kids would lovingly tell her that she doing to much. She will be missed by all who knew her, and especially by her family and "Frankie Doodle", her miniature dachshund.
Maryellen is survived by her husband of 48 years, Carl; four daughters Beverly (Jim) Schmidt of Greenfield, WI; Jackie (Scott) Hayner of Howards Grove, WI; Terry Seese of Greenfield, WI; Lorrie Shepard of Lakewood; two sons, Carl (Shawn) Gust of Waukesha; Theodore (Robin) Gust of Lakewood; 17 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; numerous other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Jerome.
Friends called upon the family on Friday, December 29, 2000 from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Suminski Funeral Home in Wabeno. At 8 p.m., Father Stanley Browne held a prayer service at the funeral home. Internment will take place at a later date.