Mother of 5 Lorraine Legarski Was Passionate About Her Family, Crafting

Lorraine Kathleen Legarski, age 92, passed away peacefully on Good Friday, April 18, 2025, at home in Saline, Michigan. She was born on December 1, 1932, at her grandparents’ farm in Edwards Township, Michigan, to Lawrence W. and Wilma Marie (Illig) Grezeszak.

Lorraine was raised on her parents’ farm in West Branch, Michigan, and was a graduate of St. Joseph Catholic School in West Branch. She worked on the family farm as a child, at a bakery in her teen years, as a switchboard operator at Michigan Bell Telephone Company in Detroit, Michigan, after leaving the farm, as an Avon cosmetics company representative while raising her children, and as a sales clerk at Sears Roebuck department store when her children were older.

On May 15, 1954, Lorraine married Michael Frank Legarski at Saints Andrew and Benedict Catholic Church in Detroit, Michigan.

She and Michael lived for 62 years at their home in Lincoln Park, Michigan. Lorraine and Michael enjoyed raising their children and then visiting their grown children and vacationing in places such as Blackburn, England; Guadalajara, Mexico; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Montreal, Canada; Dallas, Texas; Indianapolis, Indiana; Boulder, Colorado; Boston, Massachusetts; Los Angeles and San Francisco, California; and Hawaii and Alaska. Lorraine was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years in 2017.

Lorraine had two passions in life. The first was her family.

She is survived by her five children and their spouses and families: Daughter Linda (Ed) Madden, grandchildren Tod (Melanie) Madden and Christine (Jason) Vilon, and great-grandchildren Fox Madden and Jack Madden; daughter June (Andrew) McColm and granddaughter Sarah McColm; daughter Patricia (Marc) Browning and granddaughters Gabriella (Joseph) Enos; Elisa Browning and Meraiah Browning; daughter Rosemary (William) Cate and grandchildren Justin Cate (Icaro Magalhaes) and Rachele Cate; and son James (Susan) Legarski and grandson Nicholas (Kelsie) Legarski and great-grandson Liam.

Lorraine’s second passion was crafting.

She was a master artist of knitting, crocheting, tatting, quilting, garment sewing, personalized embroidered baby blankets, decorative embroidery, Hardanger embroidery, scrapbooking, and more. In her final years, she designed her own crochet patterns. Lorraine refused to sell her beautiful projects; she derived unspeakable joy from giving her creations to family and friends.

Lorraine was preceded in death by her parents Lawrence and Wilma Grezeszak and siblings Virgil Grezeszak, Cecelia Chapman, Barney Grezeszak, Earl Grezeszak, and Wayne (Chum) Grezeszak. Lorraine is survived by her brother Leonard (Doris) Grezeszak; sister Judy [David] Walter; and sisters-in-law Delores [Barney] Grezeszak, Diane [Chum] Grezeszak, and Mary [Earl] Grezeszak; and countless nieces and nephews.

Friends may join the family for a time of visitation on Thursday, April 24, 2025. from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home in Saline. A Rosary Service will be held at the funeral home at 6:00 p.m. Visitation will continue on Friday, April 25th from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Saline. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m. with Father John Linden officiating and Deacon Gordon Prepsky delivering the homily. A luncheon will be held at Church following the Mass. Burial will take place privately in the Our Lady of Hope Cemetery in Brownstown, Michigan, on Saturday, April 26th. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Lorraine’s name may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice. To leave a memory you have of Lorraine, to sign her online guestbook, or for directions, please visit www.rbfhsaline.com.

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