Mary Louise Brophy

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our family's matriarch, Mary Louise Brophy on Tuesday, April 2, 2024. She can now join our dad, her husband, John, in Heaven.  A beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, Mary touched many lives. A visitation will be held from 9 until 10 a.m. Saturday, April 6, 2024 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church with the Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10 a.m. Mary will be laid to rest at Calvary Cemetery in Sterling, Illinois. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements. Memorials may be made to St. Anthony’s Catholic Church.

Mary was born December 6, 1937, to Stanley and Helen (Puda) Glaub in Mystic, Iowa. She graduated Valedictorian in 1956 from Mystic High School.  Mary married John T. Brophy on June 6, 1959. They enjoyed over 64 years of marriage before John’s death on April 25, 2023. 

Mary and her late husband raised six children. She has ten grandchildren and six great- grandchildren. She was a proud stay-at-home mom. At the same time, she served as Vice President of a company that her husband established, Quad-City Water Technology. She was active in her community and her church. A special tribute came when Mary was crowned Irish Mother of the Year in 2005. Mary was also a talented seamstress.

Surviving are her children; Joseph (Carol) Brophy, Bettendorf, Anne (Bob) Klingborg, Rock Island, Michael (Patricia) Brophy, North Carolina, Thomas (Denna) Brophy, Geneseo, Bridget Cravero, Bettendorf, and Matthew Brophy, Florida; ten grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and her sister, Georgia, Dubuque, Iowa. 

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents and siblings: Frank Glaub, Stanley Glaub, and Valerie Walker.

The family wants to thank the caring staff at Senior Star Memory Care, mom's Fresenius Dialysis team and Genesis Hospice, especially Lisa Levy and dear friend, Mary Hancock.