Mary Margaret Lauer, 93, of St. John, Indiana, passed away peacefully on October 1, 2022, surrounded by family.

Mary was born in Pine Grove, West Virginia, on July  21, 1929, to Earl T. Long and Clara F. Long. She moved to Hammond, Indiana, to train as a nurse in the late 1940s. She graduated from nursing school in 1950 and worked as a registered nurse at Saint Margaret's Hospital in Hammond, Indiana, where she met her future husband. Mary married the love of her life, Don Lauer, in San Diego in 1952. After his passing in 2000, If you looked in her date book, she wrote Don's name on his birth date every year, noting how old he would have been and the sentiment, "I love you as much today as I did the day we were married."

Mary and Don settled in Hammond, Indiana, where they raised their three sons Jim (1953), Tim (1957), and John (1962). In 1968 she and Don entered the restaurant business opening Lauer's Intown steakhouse in Calumet City, Illinois. For over 20 years, Don and Mary welcomed customers for steak and martinis, becoming an important and reliable fixture in the community.

Mary was known for her kind and welcoming nature. She made everyone she met feel special. She loved the Chicago Cubs, and going to a game with her sons for her birthday became an annual tradition. Her famous lemon meringue pies and lemon bars were often requested at family gatherings, and she always presented them with criticism. She was her harshest critic, but they were always perfect. Mary knew the secret to happiness, and it came from her favorite book, The Little Prince , "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, brother Thomas Long (1989), and husband Don Lauer (2000) after 48 years of marriage. She is survived by her sister Ruth Lynn Case (John Case, 2019) of Centerville, Ohio; her children: Jim Lauer (Betsy) of Hammond, Indiana, Tim Lauer (Queta Chapa) of Portland, Oregon, and John Lauer (John Heim) of Austin, Texas; nine grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren (but was considered Nana to many more who also loved her dearly); numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

A remembrance mass for friends and family will be held on Sunday, November 6, 2022, at 2:00 pm at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 5304 Hohman Ave, Hammond, IN 46320.