Obituary Mary Ann Latimer – Chico, CA (1945-2024)

MARY ANN LATIMER Mary Ann passed away peacefully in her home of 52 years on June 8, 2024, surrounded by family. She was 79 years old. Mary Ann was born at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles on April 28, 1945. She was the daughter of John and Helen Faherty. She is survived by her husband Dennis Latimer. They were married for 56 years. She is also survived by her children: Denver Latimer, Dylan Latimer, and Elizabeth Latimer and her granddaughter, Aurelia Belle Latimer-Petersen. Mary Ann attended Ramona High School in Los Angeles. After graduating, she attended Santa Clara University, where she met Dennie. She earned a degree in English. They both graduated from Santa Clara in 1967. The following year, she moved to Sacramento to be with Dennie, who was in law school. They married and on January 15, 1969, Denver was born. Dylan was born on March 21, 1970. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Chico, where Dennie worked as an attorney. The children attended Citrus Grammar School. Mary Ann was a busy wife and mother by then, and was active in the Early Childhood Education Program. On February 15, 1977, their third child, Elizabeth, was born. Now Mary Ann had a new “sister” and an extra loving confidante. Mary Ann’s work in ECE had sparked a deeper desire to help people as an educator. She began teaching English at Butte College. Then she was hired by Chico State University to teach writing. She excelled in improving students’ test scores and improving student success in other subjects. She worked on her master’s thesis on how to improve student success in writing. She earned her master’s degree and worked at Chico State University until July 2009, when she retired. When she retired, the university recognized her skills and accomplishments and granted her the status of professor emeritus. She had made lifelong friends with those she worked with and also with many of the students she taught and advised, and she knew how much she truly cared. Her style was in many ways consistent with the teachings of St. Francis: “… Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to be consoled, to be understood as to be understood, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive.” Mary Ann and her family lived two blocks from the campus where she worked. When she walked across the Chico Creek Bridge to teach, she usually smiled and knew that she had opened up a world other than that of a mother or a wife. When she walked back across the bridge to go home, she usually smiled too. Her children attended Chico High. On one occasion, when their children were in school, Mary Ann and Dennie took a road trip through Nevada and left them at home to fend for themselves. When they returned, they found the entire west wall of their dilapidated garage had been torn down and replaced with a theater stage. That was the beginning of Mary Ann’s involuntary involvement in the theater in Chico. From there, the theater morphed into the Butcher Shop, which later morphed into The Blue Room above Colliers Hardware. She became a true founder of Chico Theater. Some time later, Mary Ann, her husband, and friends initiated the celebration of Bloomsday, a presentation of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The heroine of Ulysses is the character Molly Bloom. She acted and recited a memorable version of Molly Bloom’s monologue on stage. “…I love flowers, I’d like the whole place to swim in roses, God of the sky, there’s nothing like nature, the wild mountains, than the sea, as for them, there’s no God, I wouldn’t give a snap of my two fingers and oh that awful deep torrent oh and the sea, the sea crimson, sometimes like fire” Mary Ann’s experience and involvement in theatre took her to Dublin, touring Ireland, England and Italy, and travelling to Spain, Paris and the French canals. She saw much beautiful art, including Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel. And she saw Bloomsday performed in Spanish in Seville, where Molly said: “… O aquel abismal torrente O y el mar el mar carmes¡ a veces como fuego” As a teacher she opened her eyes to see that exactly the same words in another language do not necessarily mean the same thing. Because of the complexity, beauty and richness of language. When Mary Ann wasn’t teaching, working, and traveling, she was busy learning about the beauty of her natural world in Northern California. She knew that Mt. Lassen was the southernmost jewel in a chain of West Coast volcanoes. She was aware of the beautiful canyons and the streams that flowed into the Sacramento River. She became a gentle but deadly trout fisherman. Her secret there? Be careful, watch out for rattlesnakes, and get in the water. She loved to fish Mill Creek, especially at Savercool Place, a blackberry-covered meadow a mile upstream from Black Rock. She caught big trout there. She also caught Chinook salmon where Mill Creek flows into the Sacramento River. From there, she was a traveler again. She spent her summers in Montana at Mike and Trish Kelly’s “Moose in the Kitchen Window Ranch.” In Montana, she fished the Big Hole River, the Jefferson River, and the Beaverhead River. And once, on her way home to Oregon, she caught sea trout in the Umpqua River. Once, on a trip to Ireland, she stayed at the famous Shelbourne Hotel, walked the St. Stephens Green, attended the Irish Sweepstakes at The Curragh, and caught sea trout in the Ballynahinch River in Connemara. She was remarked upon by an 80-year-old Irish Gilly (guide) who described her fly-fishing skills by saying, “Your wife, man, she can throw a fly ’round the coast.” She was a wonderful friend to many people: childhood playmates, former students at Santa Clara, many students she taught, many teachers she taught with, and her family and friends, and almost all acquaintances. Perhaps the most telling thing about Mary Ann was how she related to her extended family. All of her brothers and sisters survive her: Eileen Halliburton (Rick’s darling). Kathy Recupero (Dave) Tom Faherty (*The beloved Terry), Joanie Takasugi (Lloyd) and Sheila Hugo (Chris). Nothing was more important to Mary Ann than family. She knew that the most effective way to keep a close-knit family together was to include and celebrate all of her nieces and nephews. She talked to them all, she listened to them all, she gave them all humorous advice, she was known as Auntie Mame. The last few months of her life, even the last two days of her life, were a lesson. She loved her home and she invited people to come visit her right up until the very end. She enjoyed visiting friends, taking walks in the neighborhood, going out to eat and attending local events. Two days before she peacefully passed away, she went to The Women’s Club for a local theater performance to see her son perform. She laughed the entire way through. She was eventually released as Queen of Angels. She flies away, but she will never leave us. A Mass will be held on Friday, August 2, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. at St. John The Baptist Catholic Church, followed by a celebration of life at Butte Creek Country Club.