Marcyanna Agnes (née Wills) Ferriter, 85

Marcyanna Agnes (née Wills) Ferriter, age 85, of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, passed away suddenly on April 10, 2024, at Aspirus Wausau Hospital, with her devoted husband Dennis Joseph Ferriter and other family members with her at the end.

Marcy was born on January 9, 1939, in Evanston, Illinois, the only child of Roy Millner Wills and Therese Philomae (Bemowski) Wills. Marcy was named after her maternal grandmother, and in childhood would often visit her aunts and uncles on the family farm in Stevens Point, where she and Dennis later moved and built a new home on her family’s land.

Marcy attended high school both in Evanston and in Dalhart, Texas, before attending Marquette University. She was involved in the Delta Sigma Gamma sorority before graduating with a degree in Speech Therapy in 1961. Marcy and Dennis met at Marquette in their senior year, and were married June 30, 1962.

Marcy worked in the speech therapy field before dedicating herself to raising their three daughters. She took the word “homemaker” to heart, as she truly made their home a welcoming place for family and friends of all ages. She was an excellent cook and entertainer, and enjoyed throwing parties for special occasions and holidays.

Before moving to Stevens Point in August of 1990, Marcy and Dennis lived in Milwaukee and Mazomanie, and then settled for many years in Sun Prairie. As their daughters grew, Marcy volunteered at school, Girl Scouts, choir, and marching band. She was involved in St. Albert the Great Catholic Church where she sang regularly in the choir. In Point, Marcy was an active member of the Newman Center and Holy Spirit Catholic Parish. She served in many ways, including as a marriage mentor and in the Parent to Parent program.

In addition to many volunteer roles, Marcy worked as a tax preparer for H&R Block and as a server at Holiday Inn before opening Marcyanna’s Bed & Breakfast out of their newly built home in Stevens Point. She also worked as a field representative and enumerator for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture for several years.

Over the last 20 years, Marcy worked as the coordinator for Mobile Pantry, dedicating herself to helping people in need of food assistance in rural Portage County. She received many honors over the years, including the Portage County Pat Cassidy Hunger Prevention Partnership Award in 2009, a featured cover story in the December 2015 edition of Catholic Life Magazine, and the prestigious Jefferson Award in 2017 in recognition of her years of volunteer service.

Marcy had many talents and hobbies including bridge, gardening, canning, making homemade sauerkraut, camping, canoeing, horseback riding, genealogy, road trips with her family across the U.S.A, and international travel including China and Ireland.

In later years, she enjoyed decorating her home for the seasons and holidays, especially Christmas when she also carried on many Polish traditions. She had a fun sense of style, with a cow-themed powder room and an entire flamingo-themed dining room table setting. Marcy cared for many pets including several cats, four dogs, and even an abandoned baby skunk. She was an eloquent writer, an avid reader, and an excellent conversationalist. She was kind, thoughtful, and loved picking out the perfect gift or card for any occasion.

Marcy’s relationships were very important to her. She maintained several childhood friendships for decades, and kept in touch through cards, handwritten letters, Facebook and most recently via a smartphone. Her friends, extended family, in-laws, neighbors, and fellow volunteers remember her kindness, thoughtfulness, and generosity.

She loved her family deeply. Her marriage to Dennis was just shy of 62 years, and they stood by each other in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and for better or worse. Marcy was a loving mother to her three children, always ready to listen or to be a sounding board. She was so supportive of her daughters when they became mothers, and her seven grandchildren brought her great pride and joy. She loved cheering her grandkids on at sports, and seeing them perform in plays, choir, or band performances.

Through most of her adult life, Marcy lived with arthritis which became more painful and debilitating as time went on. She refused to let this disease stop her from doing the things she wanted to do. Though she had her share of times that she felt angry and resentful of her lot, she found ways to cope including through a very personal and spiritual relationship with God. She was incredibly strong, resilient, and resourceful despite her physical challenges and chronic pain.

Marcy is survived by her husband, Dennis; three children and their families: Maureen Ferriter, (Carol Oebel) and Olivia, Manisha, and Anita; Christine Ferriter, (William Lebeda), Lee (Clare) and Cooper; Alicia (Ferriter) Skarsten, (Brian Skarsten), Connor and Kayla. Marcy has three surviving first cousins: Donald Cass, Jim Cass, and Faye Robinson. She is also survived by other relatives, in-laws, and many lifelong friends. She is preceded in death by both of her parents.

In lieu of a funeral service at this time, the regular public mass at 5 p.m. at Holy Spirit Catholic Parish in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, will be dedicated in her name on April 20, 2024.

We will gather afterwards for refreshments and to share our memories. Our hope is that the service will be livestreamed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@HolySpiritStevensPoint/streams).

Marcy’s final resting place will be St. Peter’s Cemetery on Old Wausau Road in Stevens Point.