Maria was born in Germany and lived on the Wagnerberger family dairy farm. Her love of a French farm worker produced Johanna, aka Lore. This circumstance put the Wagnerbergers at great risk with the Nazi authorities, which disallowed French occupants during wartime. Lore was kept hidden with the use of another name as father, sometimes under floorboards, for the duration of the war. The real father returned to France and was never seen again. Several years later, Maria started a new life when she met and married an American serviceman, Ira McNulty. Maria took her life by an overdose in 1994.

Ira was living in Trumbull and/or Hubbard, Oh., at the time of his death. He served in the U.S. Army during WWII and also the Korean Conflict. He was a career military man, retiring as a staff sargeant in 1968. “Mac” was a driver for Anchor Motor Freight for 9 years. When he met Maria, she had difficulty with the name “Mac” and instead called him “Mike,” a name that stuck with him the rest of his life.

Although they divorced, Ira and Maria never fell out of love and reconciled just over 3 years prior to Ira’s death.