Canton — Mary Anne (Lane) Zehel, a longtime Michigan Catholic staff member and a loving wife and mother, died Dec. 12 at the age of 63 after a three-year battle with cancer.

Zehel, of Canton, who worked as circulation manager for the newspaper from 1999 to 2012, was often the first voice subscribers heard when they called the newspaper, and hers was a voice of comfort and compassion many likely never forgot.

Whenever Zehel found out a subscriber was in need of prayer, she not only assured them of her own prayers, but would also marshal an army of prayer warriors on the caller’s behalf, co-workers recalled.

“The Solanus Center knew her by name; she would always call in prayer intentions for our subscribers,” said Kelly Villarreal, executive assistant and in-bound sales representative for The Michigan Catholic, who worked with Zehel for many years.

Joe Kohn, a reporter and editor at the paper during Zehel’s tenure, described her as “like a magnet” with people, and “one of the most sincere people you’ve ever met.”

“She treated her job as a ministry,” Kohn said, using every opportunity to offer Christian charity and a listening ear.

That was just the kind of “wonderful person” Zehel was, co-workers said, always thinking of others first, even after her diagnosis with terminal brain cancer in December 2011 forced her to resign from the newspaper. Even then, she was never bitter and always upbeat and optimistic.

“Nothing was ever a chore to her, even when she got sick,” said MaryBeth Schmid, a friend and office manager with the archdiocese’s IT department. “She never complained about anything.”

Ned McGrath, communications director for the archdiocese who hired Zehel, said many would have withdrawn after such bad news, but Zehel’s faith, as well as her devotion to the rosary and to Venerable Solanus Casey, kept her strong as she began attending weekly healing Masses.

McGrath said Zehel “epitomized what an author once described as ‘The Valiant Woman’ — faith-filled, loyal and hard-working, dedicated to her family, to her religion, and to her God.” Rather than become depressed, he said, “she put herself in God’s hands, trusting and understanding the journey ahead of her.”

Zehel gained her appreciation for the needs of others at an early age, said her sister, Kathleen Moore. Moore relayed that as kids, their mother would have her eight children line up on the stairs in front of a statue of the Blessed Mother to pray the rosary for friends or strangers in need.

“She was the sweetest one out of the whole eight,” Moore said. “One of my brothers, Danny, always said Mary Anne was the shining star of the family.”

Schmid said Zehel “had a heart of gold,” a legacy her own children picked up from her, especially during the last years of her life.

“They really learned the grace of God from their mom (during her illness) and really showed it back to her,” Schmid said, adding that together with another ongoing cancer battle for Mary Anne’s husband, John, “it’s been a real struggle for them all.”

Aside from her faith and family, which were “hugely” important to Zehel, she loved the Detroit Tigers and would attend every Opening Day, as well as St. Patrick’s Day parades. She and her husband also enjoyed their “side job” together, in which they were contracted by a casino company to personally present checks to winners of the “Wheel of Fortune” games.

“She just exuded love and life,” Schmid said.

Born Jan. 2, 1951, to Patrick and Josephine Lane, Mary Anne attended St. Brigid Grade School and Immaculata High School in Detroit, graduating in 1969 before attending Wayne State University. She worked for several years as an insurance claims examiner prior to her career with The Michigan Catholic.

Zehel is survived by her husband of 34 years, John; children Matthew (Melissa), Daniel (Julie) and Patrick; step-children John A. (Casi) and Michael (Melissa); grandchildren Brandi, Logan, Rosie and John; three brothers and four sisters; as well as nieces and nephews. Zehel is predeceased by a grandson, Austin.

Her funeral Mass was Dec. 16 at St. Thomas a’Becket Parish in Canton. Interment is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield. Memorials to the Fr. Solanus Casey Center or the Josephine Ford Cancer Center.