The Compass

Two months after joining church, Manitowoc woman loses her husband

MANITOWOC — Olivia Brey was baptized and raised Lutheran. However, after moving away from the influence of her faith-filled grandparents when she was in high school, she struggled to find a church she could connect with. Faith was always something she wanted, Olivia says. But she found herself in a bad situation.

"When I was 16, I didn't know enough about my faith to put myself out there, so I just left it on the back burner," she says. Then, in 2003, Olivia started dating Chris Brey and went with him to St. Mary Catholic Church in Manitowoc (now St. Francis of Assisi).