Having turned 80 on Nov. 9, Mary Lou Linnen has reached the enviable point in life at which, she said, “I have done everything I wanted to do.”
Heading into the next decade, her plan is “to become more eccentric and do whatever I want to do. I guess I’ll take things as they come and be surprised.”
This day-at-a-time philosophy has served her well through the ups and downs. In 1980, she was widowed at the age of 48, when her husband Bill, 50, and sons Danny, 23, and Jimmy, 21, were killed in a private plane while travelling to a Notre Dame football game at the University in Southern California. At the time of the crash, Mary Lou had three other children at home: Beth, Meg and Joe. She credits them with keeping her moving forward.
“When you have kids in school, you can’t give up,” she said. “You just get up every day and the days become less onerous.”
After living in Detroit and Chicago, Bill and Mary Lou Linnen moved to Long Beach in the late 1960s, when he became a regional sales manager for Brown Semi Trailers, owned by Clark Equipment Co. He was promoted to president and then became president of Tyler Refrigeration Corp. of Niles, Mich., a subsidiary of Clark Equipment. The couple bought a house overlooking the Long Beach Country Club because, Mary Lou said, “He loved the golf course and I loved the lake. It’s a nice community and a wonderful place to raise kids.”
Being a newcomer to Michigan City, Linnen sought ways to get involved in the community. She became a founding board member for Michigan City’s Head Start program and was active in advancing the city’s Boys & Girls Club. Subsequently, she has put her energies into serving other organizations that improve the lives of local residents, including: the Michigan City Education Foundation, the Samaritan Center, Service League, the Unity Foundation of La Porte County, the Barker Civic Center and the Notre Dame School Foundation.
“I just think you need to give back,” she said. “I’ve been very fortunate in a lot of ways.”
She prefers to contribute locally because, “You know that you’re making a difference.”
Linnen is a philanthropist who has created several endowments through the United Foundation. She is also an astute business woman. She served on the board of directors of Tyler Refrigeration Corp. and, after her husband’s death, enrolled in the MBA program at the Keller School of Management in Chicago, now part of DeVry University. The MBA gave her the skills she needed to establish Creekwood Inn, a 13-room guest house and conference center in Michigan City that houses the fine dining restaurant Kelly’s Table.
When she opened Creekwood Inn in 1984, Mary Lou said she wanted to attract tourists to the area by providing an alternative to motel accommodations. The business helped fill a void in her life when she was faced with an empty nest.
“I like to think that I have given people a lot of enjoyment,” she said of her 28-year stint as Creekwood Inn owner.
After opening Creekwood, Mary Lou entered into a partnership with several local investors to establish Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets in Michigan City. The outdoor mall now has 120 stores and attracts visitors from a wide radius, including foreign countries.
Linnen continues to lead a full life and believes in not taking things too seriously – including her golf and bridge games. She is surrounded by family. Daughter Meg Caplice lives here and recently opened “Darling,” a women’s clothing boutique on Franklin Street in Michigan City’s Uptown Arts district. Daughter Beth and son Joe both live in the Chicago area and have summer homes here, so she frequently sees them and her nine grandchildren.
At this point in life, she’s open to the possibilities. “It will be interesting to see what I do.”