Mary Lou Sabroski

Mary Lou Sabroski, 93, of Duluth, passed away on January 21, 2026, at Mount Royal Pines Assisted Living in Duluth, Minnesota.

She was born in Duluth to Byron and Addie (Bills) Armstrong on February 13, 1932. She attended Stanbrook Hall High School. Upon graduation in 1949, she joined the St. Scholastica Monastery and was given the name Sister Sarah. In 1952, she realized that the convent life was not for her and left.

She began dating Bob Sabroski, whom she had known all of her life, and they married on September 12, 1953. Together they raised nine children, taking them on many camping and road trips across the country.

She and Bob had an adventurous spirit, visiting forty-nine states, all the Canadian provinces, and traveling throughout Europe. Her favorite trip was to Ireland and going to local pubs in search of a good glass of Guinness beer. Closer to home, she and Bob had a close circle of friends who would go camping together and throw lively neighborhood parties. Her famous potato salad was a favorite of everybody.

Throughout her life, she worked various jobs as a biller/typist, and she also wrote a regular column called Sunspots, for the Duluth Diocesan newspaper.

She was an avid knitter and warmed many feet with brightly colored socks. As she aged, she enjoyed the more simple, quiet things in life, like watching the sunrise over Lake Superior, reading, singing old songs, eating fresh doughnut holes, and drinking a cup of good dark coffee.

She was preceded in death by her husband Bob, daughter Nancy Engelsgjerd, granddaughter Elizabeth Sabroski, her parents, and siblings, Byron, Betty, Robert, and Jerry.

She is survived by children Mary Kay, Daniel (Rebecca), Susan (Jim Smart), Barbara (Greg Gecas), Robert Jr., Jean (Nick Revier), Alan (Suzanne), and Sarah (Frank Selhorst), twenty-two grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren (too many to count, and more on the way), and her longtime dear friend, Carol McLeod.

Thank you to the Aspirus Community Care, Essentia Hospice, and the wonderful compassionate caregivers at the Mount Royal Pines Assisted Living.

Visitation will be held on Monday, January 26, 2026, from 5PM to 7PM, with Wake prayers at 6:30PM, at Dougherty Funeral Home, 600 East 2nd Street, Duluth, MN 55805.

Visitation will continue Tuesday, January 27, 2026, from 10AM until the 11AM Mass of Christian Burial at St. John’s Catholic Church, 4230 St. John’s Avenue, Duluth, MN 55803. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery.

Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home.