Mary Austin

Mary Ellen Meinert Austin, beloved mother and grandmother, age 95, of Mahtomedi, MN, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2025.

Preceded in death by her loving husband, St. Paul Oral Surgeon, Dr. L. Thomas Austin II; and brother, Dr. John K. Meinert.

She is survived by her sister, Ruth Gilbert; and brother, Karl Meinert; her five loving children, Sally Ronat (Jon), Susan Austin  DeGregorio (Robert), Louis Thomas Austin, Scott Austin (Tricia), Albert Austin (Tanya); twelve grandchildren; and 3 great-grandchildren.

Mary was born on July 26, 1930 in Winona, MN to Dr. Albert E. Meinert and Helen Keith Meinert. Mary adored her parents and was very proud of them. She loved animals and cherished and cared for many pets over her lifetime. Music was also a passion and she became an accomplished pianist at a young age.

After graduating from Winona Senior High School in 1948, where she was a member of the debate club, played saxophone in the school band, and competed in archery, she enrolled at Carleton College in Northfield, MN and joined the Delta Gamma sorority.

It was when she transferred to the University of MN her junior year that she met and married the love of her life, "Tommy" Austin, of Rochester, MN, and went on to raise five children in St. Paul, MN.

Mary and Tom shared a love for Jazz music and Bossa Nova and sponsored Brazilian musician, Manfredo Fest, who became like family. When his Bossa Nova band played live music at a party in their Crocus Hill home on Fairmont Ave, it was the talk of the neighborhood. Mary and Tom were also long time supporters of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Some of Mary's fondest memories are of her time spent on Lac Court Oreilles near Hayward WI. Her parents had a cabin there and the family joke was that Tom married Mary for the lake. Together they built a lovely lake home just down the beach, and this is where Mary and the kids made friends, memories and spent long happy summers.

Mary and Tom were known for owning the Old Chicago Club, a beautiful historic resort hotel on Lac Court Oreilles. They purchased it to preserve the lake from developers. For the 30 years they owned it, it was used for sailboat regattas, weddings, and multi-family reunions.

Mary was one of the founding members of the Court Oreilles Lake Association, COLA, and had a lifelong passion for protecting the lake and its surrounding beauty. Mary touched the lives of so many, was loved and admired by her family and friends, and will be dearly missed.

A memorial service is pending for Mary, details to be posted soon.

Donations in her honor can be made to the Court Oreilles Lake Association, https://www.cola-wi.org/donate, or the Northwoods Animal Humane Society in Hayward, WI, https://northwoodshumanesociety.org/donations/.