Mary Hartel Brent Anderson

Mary was a small person, 5’ 2” with a great calm and humility but she was steadfast and resilient. She walked through life with an inner strength, inspired initially by the Sacred Heart nuns in New Orleans at the Academy of Sacred Heart, and then at Barat College in Lake Forest, Illinois (also the Religious of the Sacred Heart). She earned a degree in French, with honors, at Newcomb. She graduated from Loyola Law School as an adult with small children. Mary practiced law and real estate and was amazing at it. She was a fierce leader and tireless in her devotion to learning and helping her clients. Mary was never too tired to share her wisdom and advice.

She was on the parish council of St. Clement of Rome and as her spirituality evolved, she became a devout Buddhist. A longtime lover of art, she studied art repeatedly in New York, Paris, Rome, contemplating the great painters and bringing her love of beauty to all the people she saw and touched. Equally interested in spiritual growth, she attended numerous meditative retreats in America and Europe and sought always to make the most compassionate choice. Mary was kind, sweet, and strong. She did all she could for her grandchildren, even the littlest ones, inspiring them and spending as much time as possible with them. Her inner strength rested in determination and the desire to help others. An adventurer and free spirit, she died as she lived in peace with a deep yearning to grow and give as much as she could to the world.

Mary, we send your soul to God.

Mary was born July 24, 1943, and left this earth on June 7, 2023. She is preceded in death by her first husband, Robert James Brent, her second husband Dr. Edgar James Anderson, her parents Rosary Nix and Stephen Camille Hartel, and her sons Christopher Bradley Brent and Michael Hartel Brent.

She is survived by her sons Robert Brent (Erika), Stephen Brent (Nicole) and John Brent (Chelsea), her sister Rosary O’Neill Harzinski (Bob), her brothers Stephen Hartel (Patricia), Joseph Hartel (Jean), her grandchildren Avery, Gabriella, James, Koi, Mary, Ryan, Johnny and Michael, her stepchildren, step grandchildren and countless nieces and nephews.

A visitation will be held at Lake Lawn Funeral Home on Wednesday June 14, 2023 from 10a-12p followed by Funeral Service at 12:00. The funeral will also be available through live streaming at the following link: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY4Njc4MTY1ODI1NjU2OSZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==