Gloria T. Nedeau - Brown

Munising

Gloria Therese (nee Reffruschinni) Nedeau Brown, age 94, of Munising, died Wednesday, January 28, 2026 at the Schoolcraft Medical Care Facility in Manistique. She was born on September 17, 1931 in AuTrain, Michigan to Joseph and M. Leona (Burke) Reffruschinni by a mid-wife. Gloria grew up in the Paulsen House in AuTrain before moving to Frog Hollow in Munising in 1938 to the home her father had built for the family. She attended AuTrain School and then Sacred Heart School and graduated from Wm. G. Mather High School in 1949. In September, Gloria moved to Detroit where she met and married Roland Nedeau in 1951. Together they had four children Dan (Denise) Nedeau, Tom (Tami) Nedeau, Catherine (Paul) Smith, and Ed (Debbie) Nedeau. Gloria moved back to Munising in 1963 where she raised her children. Gloria loved to sew, gardening, cheering for all the sports teams of Detroit, and was a big Munising Mustang fan. She also loved to cook and bake (everyone loved her chicken pot pie) and making donuts at Christmas time. She loved her music and playing cards. Gloria had an open-house policy. She loved company at her home on Brook Street that she lived at for sixty-two years. She was very proud of her Indian heritage and belonged to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. She had a phenomenal memory and loved her heritage and history. Gloria was interviewed by the Sault Tribe because of her knowledge of the Chippewa Indians and her family’s stories. Her great-great-grandfather William Cameron was the lighthouse keeper on Grand Island. Her great-grandfather Frank Cameron was a hunting guide in the AuTrain area and was a personal guide to Bishop Baraga. Gloria loved her faith and she was a devoted parishioner to Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

She leaves behind her four children; grandkids – Dan (Leanne) Nedeau, Lindsey (Jeremy) Robbins, Jill (Brett) Bednarski, Katie Nedeau, Scott (Mary) Nedeau, and Jordyn (Brandon) DeFrancesco; great-grandchildren – Addison, Emerson, Hunter, Harper, Bexley, Bently, Beau, Lyla, Leon, and Leto; many nieces and nephews; sister – Sherill Hendrickson; and sister-in-law – Loretta Reff. Gloria was preceded in death by her parents Joseph and Leona, brothers Jim (Shirley), Alvin, Rodney, and Bernard, and brother-in-law John Hendrickson.

Gloria’s funeral mass and burial will take place in the spring.