Natalie Lorraine (Mrs. Emmett) Lenihan

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Natalie Lorraine (Mrs. Emmett) Lenihan, 95, of Hopkins, Minn., and formerly of Orange, Calif., and Aberdeen, S.D., passed away Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016, at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park, Minn.

Mass of Christian burial will be 10:30 a.m., Friday, Dec. 9, 2016, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 409 Third Ave. S.E., Aberdeen, with Father David Janes as celebrant.

Burial will take place at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery.

Visitation will be 4-6 p.m., Thursday, at the mortuary, with a liturgical wake service and Catholic Daughter’s rosary at 6 p.m. Visitation continues one hour prior to Mass at the church Friday.

Natalie Lorraine Mallay  was born on June 18, 1921, to John “Jack” Francis Mallay and Marie (Myron) Mallay in Flasher,  N.D. Natalie’s first years were spent living in Mott and Hettinger, N.D. She moved with her family to Aberdeen on Dec. 30, 1925. She attended Henry Neill Elementary School, Sacred Heart School, Roosevelt Junior High School and graduated from Aberdeen Central High School in 1939.

In the summer of 1939, Emmett George Lenihan asked Natalie out on a date. For their first date on July 7, 1939, the two went to Aberdeen’s Capital Theater and watched the movie “Love Affair.” This was the beginning of their own love story, which Emmett and Natalie often recounted to family. Emmett boasted that Natalie was the first and only girl he ever asked out while Natalie explained with a chuckle how she told her sisters that one of the Lenihan boys had asked her out, but she didn’t know which one. The two married at Sacred Heart Catholic Church on Sept. 1, 1941. Theirs was a romance that spanned more than 67 years — a love story that was characterized by devotion to each other and family, unconditional love, faith, hope, honor, adventure, humor and laughter.

After marrying, the couple moved to Gettysburg, S.D., where Emmett began his teaching and coaching career and where they started their family. In 1943, they moved to Aberdeen where they made their home and grew their family while Emmett taught and coached at Central High School.  Later, Father James Joyce asked Emmett to help open Roncalli High School, where he taught and coached, and was Roncalli’s first Athletic Director.  Natalie enjoyed being a wife, homemaker and a mother of six children. She poured her joy and love into preparing delicious meals for family and baking wonderful desserts; her Divinity was perfect.

Natalie’s love of children led her to pursue a teaching career. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Northern State Teachers College in Aberdeen in 1957. She began teaching third-grade at Sacred Heart School in 1962 and taught there for eight years.  In 1970, Emmett and Natalie moved to Orange, California. Once there, Natalie taught at Villa Park School in Villa Park, Calif., until retiring in 1984.

Natalie was a Girl Scout leader for two of her daughters’ troops. She was a lifetime member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Immaculate Conception Court No. 582. She also was a member of that group’s Our Lady of Lourdes Study Club. She was a member of the Aberdeen Public Schools Faculty Wives and the women’s clubs in Gettysburg and Orange, Calif.
Natalie and Emmett were very active members of St. Norbert’s Catholic Church Young at Hearts Club in Orange, Calif. Natalie would bake a dozen pies for the club’s annual fundraiser.

Sports played an integral role in Natalie and Emmett’s lives. They always cheered on the Central Golden Eagles, the Roncalli Cavaliers, the Northern State University Wolves, and the Katella (California) High School Knights (where Emmett taught). They were life-long fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Los Angeles (California) Angels, the Minnesota Twins and the Minnesota Vikings.

Natalie was a strong, gentle and kind woman who wielded a quick wit, a quiet confidence and an adventurous spirit. She went to great lengths to make sure that her grandchildren got a front-row view of historical places, events and Disneyland Parades. Undeterred by security guards, Natalie led her grandchildren on numerous one-of-kind field trips, including a walking tour of the Metrodome in Minneapolis while it was still under construction. Natalie simply marched past the no trespassing signs, motioning for her grandchildren to follow. Soon, the whole family scurried passed dumbfounded construction workers who had no idea how to respond to a determined Natalie, who simply waved and said, “I’m just showing my grandchildren!”

Natalie’s deep Catholic faith sustained her, gave her strength and provided the foundation for building a close-knit family. She prayed deeply in private and in public and loved attending Mass. On long road trips, she always led the family in praying the Rosary. Not only did this help her family grow in faith, but she enjoyed the other benefits that praying the Rosary ensured — a quiet car and sleeping little children.

Emmett and Natalie rarely left each other’s sides except when they were teaching and when Emmett was drafted in 1944 and served for two years in the United States Army during World War II. Natalie and Emmett’s love for one another continued to strengthen and grow with every minute of every year. They were in their 67th year of marriage when Emmett died on December 19, 2008.

In recent years, Natalie lived in their apartment at St. Therese Southwest (The Glenn) in Hopkins, Minn. Neighbors and staff alike appreciated Natalie’s kindness and friendship.
Natalie always said God’s best gifts to her were: (1.) Her faith shared with her husband, (2.) A wonderful husband who was so good to her and their children, and (3.) Their happy family life through all the years. She will be missed dearly.

Surviving Natalie are her three daughters: Linda (Robert J.) Mattern of Aberdeen, Rosemary (Lowell L.) Nally of Shoreview, Minn., and Marcia (Joseph L.) Pecsi of Bishop, Calif.; two sons: Michael E. Lenihan of Panama City Beach, Fla., and Emmett A. (Lisa) Lenihan of Pierpont, S.D; grandchildren: Mary Ellen (Michael) DeBois, Patricia (Julie Wright) Mattern, Robert E. (Cathy) Mattern, Christine (Michael) Weflen, Tamara Pecsi, Rebecca (Ted) Vigil, Meagan (Shaun) Hammond, Theresa (Chris) Warner; great-grandchildren: Lauren, Ian, Ryan, and Kaylen DeBois, Haley Trudeau, Macy Weflen, Hailey and Tommy Hammond, and Natalie, Ronin and Emmett Vigil; and a new baby boy, Nick Vigil, to arrive in March 2017; sisters-in-law: Betty Mallay and Dorothy Lenihan; brother-in-law, Maynard Kambak; and many nieces and nephews.

Natalie was preceded in death by her husband, Emmett, one son, Mark Francis Lenihan, one grandson, Joseph Garrett Mattern, her parents, John and Marie Mallay, two sisters and their husbands, Eleanor and Wally Stohl and Shirley and Ray Tabor and one brother Myron (Bud) Mallay, and in-laws: Robert E. and Ayeliffe Lenihan, James F. Lenihan, Mary and Matt Baumann and Patty Kambak.

The family wishes to thank the wonderful staff and great residents at The Glenn for all the care and kindness given to our mother. Natalie really liked living at The Glenn and always said, “This is a really good place to live.”  God Is Great.