Mary Lou (Hodges) Iaquinto was born to Larry and Mary Hodges in Detroit. She spent most of her childhood in Detroit and Redford. When she was young, she used to love to take the bus downtown to Hudson’s. She attended Mercy High School and graduated from Thurston High School in Redford. Mary Lou and Frank had three boys, Mike, Jim and Pat. Mary Lou stayed at home and raised the boys, while Frank was a traveling salesman. When they became teenagers, she started working at Crowleys in Farmington. She worked in the shoe department for 20 years. Her and the boys would “share” her car. The guys sometimes “forgot” to share or pick her up from work. She even gave up her garage when the guys wanted to start their glass business. That was the essence of Mary Lou. Always generously GIVING of her love, her time, and her whole HEART.

She welcomed three daughters (in-law) into the family. Coincidentally, all from Redford. She was blessed with 7 grandchildren, Nick, Anthony, Phillip, Ali, Joe, Alex and Sofia. Mary Lou adored these kids. She would babysit anytime we asked, she went to their sporting events - at the rink, the pool, or the field. She would make them chocolate chip cookies and THE best spaghetti and meatballs. Five years ago, great-granddaughter Lilly came into the world, then great-grandson Henry, and a year ago, we welcomed great-granddaughter no. 2, Violet. She and Frank had a huge extended family. Everyone’s kids fondly referred to her as Grandma Lou. She also loved dogs. Her pets were Sugar, Sara, and Hattie (Hat Trick). But she also loved, Chelsea, Casey, Flash, Lucy, Emmie, Midnight, Willow, Tito, and even Jackie Joe. Frank and Mary Lou were married for fifty-five wonderful years. They raised 3 successful sons and always supported their family.

Mary Lou was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and a-fib. She scared us in 2016 when she had a serious brain bleed after a bad fall. But she recovered pretty well. On October 19th, we celebrated her 80th birthday. She spent Thanksgiving at Jim’s and the day after at Pat’s. After that, she became very weak. She spent a week in the hospital, a week at rehab, and then she decided to accept hospice care. On the day after Christmas, she was moved to a wonderful assisted living home, where she could have 24 hr care. Frank spent every day with her, and family and friends visited often. She passed peacefully with family by her side.

May Lou was a kind, generous, beautiful, gentle, loving soul and will be missed by all.