Mary Louise Salli, 77, of Kingsford, Mich., passed away Wednesday, October 14, 2009, at her home. She was born December 21, 1931, in Chicago, Ill., daughter of the late Raymond and Jeanette (Takala) Klase. Mary graduated from L'Anse High School, Class of 1950. She married Ken Salli in June of 1950. They moved to Detroit and six years later transferred back to Kingsford. After raising her family, Mary went back to school to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. She taught in Iron Mountain for two years, Kansas City for two years, and Los Angeles for fifteen years, until her retirement in 1998. After her retirement, Mary moved to Mt. Home, Arkansas for eight years before returning to Kingsford. As a child, she moved often following her dad to different Naval Bases, instilling in her the desire to travel. Mary traveled twice to Finland to trace family history, to Germany when her son, Ken, was in the Air Force, then to England when her son, Mark, was in the Air Force. For two summers, she lived with a family in Mexico and went to school to perfect her Spanish, now she was fluent in three languages, English, Finnish, and Spanish. Mary loved to cook, having 30 people to her home for a holiday meal was typical. Her baked goods were enjoyed by her entire family. She leaves her children, Barbara (Mike) Ciochetto, Randville, Ken (April) Salli, Kansas City, Mo., Mark (Billye) Salli, Timnath, Colo., Christopher (Joan) Salli, Iron Mountain; seven grandchildren, Mike and Tony Ciochetto, Adam, Ryan (Katie), Brady, Jessica, and Jenny Salli; nine great-grandchildren, Cody Carlson, Michael Anthony Ciochetto, Kayla, Logan, Savanna, and Mason Salli, Kiesha Longrie, Amaya Salli, Desmond and Mekhi Houston; a brother, Raymond (Deb) Hanson; two sisters, Victoria (Jamie) Markham, Sarah (Jim) Moesch; and a special niece, Debra Wirtanen. Besides her parents, Mary was preceded in death by a sister, Margie Bennett. You may light a candle in remembrance of Mary or leave a condolence for her family online at www.JacobsFuneralHomes.com The Jacobs Funeral Home, Iron Mountain, is serving the family. Visitation will be Saturday, October 17, 2009, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Jacobs Funeral Home, Iron Mountain. The memorial service will be Saturday, 2:30 p.m. at the funeral home.