Ann Maresh

Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 11, 2021 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church for Ann (Bernhardt) Maresh, age 73, long time resident of Saint Cloud, who passed away peacefully from complications of dementia at her home surrounded by family on January 3, 2021.  Reverend Timothy Gapinski will celebrate. Private burial will be in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Waite Park.

Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service on Monday, January 11, 2021 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church.  Masks are required at the church.  The family requests that those who are unwilling or unable to wear a mask due to medical conditions to pray for Ann and her family from home.

Ann was born on June 19, 1947 to Sebastian and Katherine (Schmidt) Bernhardt in Taylor, ND. Upon graduated Taylor High School, she attended Mary College in Bismarck, ND and transferred to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.  There she met Ray Maresh and graduated with a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from UND and became a registered nurse (RN) in 1968. Ann and Ray married June 6, 1970 in Dickinson, ND.  Ann started her career working at the VA Medical Health Center in St Cloud, MN.  After having children, Ann took time off to raise her family, then earned a Master’s in Nursing Education.  Returning to nursing, she was a Benton County Public Health nurse then worked until retirement at the VA in Mental Health. 

Always a devout and passionate Catholic, she was an active leader at St. Michael’s church, especially in the Legion of Mary and ProLife activities.  When not volunteering for church, Ann was promoting the need for healthy, organic food.  Ann enjoyed spending time with friends and family, which were so important to her, through travel, camping, and entertaining friends and family at the holidays.  Ann and Ray’s home has always been the center for bringing people together.  In her free time, she enjoyed being creative through art, sewing, and crafting. However, her greatest accomplishment and most valuable was spending time with her grandchildren. 

She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Ray; children Rochelle Maresh (Terrence Asselin) Minneapolis, MN; Robert (Liliana) Maresh, Saint Paul, MN; and Michael (Chien) Maresh, Covington, WA; four grandchildren; siblings Betty Campo, Marge (Gene) Focht, James Bernhardt, and Marie Thorell. 

She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings Linda Kjerstad, Cathleen Bernhardt, and Leonard Bernhardt. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to a nursing education institution, ProLife organization, or food shelf of choice.