Daily WOW: Nearly a nun, now great-grandmother to 86

Marie Frey is the proud mother of 15, grandmother of 68, and great-grandmother of 86 with 2 more on the way. Funnily enough, these 171 lives may never have been if not for her love of dancing:

Growing up as the daughter of farmers in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Marie toyed with the idea of becoming a nun, but changed direction after discovering it’d force her to give up her passion: dancing. “I was working for someone at the time that said I’d either be a nun or get married and have a bunch of kids. They weren’t wrong when they said I’d be having a lot of kids,” Marie said. And it’s a good thing Marie didn’t give up dancing, because it ultimately led her to Gerald Frey, the man who would go on to become her longtime husband. Marie and Gerald met at an Independence Day dance. She had been planning on attending a drive-in movie, but the dance was just too good to pass up — and the rest is history. Marie still square dances to this day.

Marie felt a calling from the Lord and assumed it meant a monastic life. Little did she know she was meant to fill up a parish with souls for Christ. Here’s to you, Marie! May you have 86 more years and 86 more great-grandchildren.