Mary Ellen Margaret Shingleston

Mary Ellen Margaret Shingleston, 85, of Fort Wayne, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, surrounded by her family and biggest fans. She was born December 2, 1940, in Detroit, MI, to Clarence and Frances Distelrath.

In Mary Ellen’s younger years, she was a lovely candy striper for a local hospital by day, a self-proclaimed dodgeball champion by night, and a talented baton twirler in the afternoon. It was said that she was the most coveted player on the dodgeball team and there were also rumors of a baton twirling incident involving fire. She attended St Jude Catholic School and graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1959.

In 1969, she was vacationing in Virginia Beach with a group of girlfriends, when she met a young, handsome gentleman by the name of Michael “Mick” Shingleston, who had hitchhiked to the beach with a few of his fellow Royal Navy sailors. She didn’t know it at the time, but he would become the love of her life and father of her children. After a brief courtship, they were married on August 18, 1970, and settled in Fort Wayne, IN.

Mary Ellen's professional life began at Lincoln Life where, through her great work ethic and leadership, she went on to become one of the first female supervisors. She was rightfully very proud of this milestone in her career and relished in reminiscing about her time there. However, the greatest honor of her life was becoming a mother to her 2 daughters and, consequently, she took a hiatus to focus on her family. In her late career, she put her artistic skills to the test at Scott’s bakery, where her daughters and their friends allegedly took advantage of the employee discount on the donuts until she retired.

Her hobbies earlier in life included gardening, vacuuming the curtains daily, drinking Diet Coke before it was cool, worshiping the sun, and watching TV shopping channels. It was a good thing she never got the hang of internet shopping. Later in life, she took up word searches, began calling her daughters to assist with her QVC/HSN orders (we still have many panicked voicemails with the item numbers and directions on ordering before her color/size sells out), was the self-appointed neighborhood patrol through her living room window, and became a highly skilled Bingo queen. She was so competitive that she brought her own boards with the winning dates/prizes written on the back, yet had such an unassuming way about her that everyone wanted her to win and celebrated with her. Her unofficial claim to fame in 2025 was winning the most coverall games at Kekionga Craft Company, where she could be found every Wednesday night with her finger hovering over her 2 boards, anxiously awaiting her numbers to be called.

She is survived by her doting husband who spoiled her rotten for 55 years, Mick; daughters Natalie Cogar & Angela Shingleston (Candice); grandchildren Jalen Cogar, Brooklyn Cogar, Jaycee Knafel, Weston Knafel, & Easton Knafel.

She is also survived by two brothers, Dan & Chuck Distelrath, and her sister, Diane Parker.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, Bob Distelrath; her sisters, Joanne Young & Arlene Baker; and her son-in-law, Kevin Cogar. We sincerely hope they are practiced up and ready for her weekly bingo shenanigans.

Visitation will be held at D.O. McComb & Sons Funeral Homes - Lakeside Park, located at 1140 Lake Avenue, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, on January 19, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The funeral service will take place at the funeral home on January 20, 2026, at 11:00 am with visitation an hour prior.

Burial is to take place at Catholic Cemetery with a luncheon at the funeral home immediately following.

Memorial contributions in Mary Ellen's memory may be directed to The Carriage House, 3327 Lake Avenue, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805, www.fortwayneclubhouse.org.