Mary Theresa De Quasie

Mary Theresa Van Moer De Quasie of Salinas, CA passed thru the gates of our Heavenly Father on Saturday, February 8th, 2014 at the age of 91. Born in Amiret Township, MN on May 17, 1922, Mary was the last surviving child of Edmund and Florence Van Moer. She grew up on the family farm, attending local schools in Marshall and Tracy, MN, and Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. In the early 1940’s, Mary, along with sisters Agnes and Margaret, left the cold, hard winters of Minnesota for sunny Southern California. It was war-time, and the three “gals with the gams” as the family fondly referred to them, adopted the nicknames “Mickey”, “Ike”, and “Muggs”, and enjoyed dancing to the big band sounds in their hay-day; something Mary still enjoyed in her later years. Mary and her family settled in Salinas where she lived in the family home for 56 years and was a member of both St. Mary of the Nativity and Sacred Heart Catholic churches. She gave her family many fond memories of holiday traditions, entertaining friends and family (both at the family home in Salinas and cabin in Boulder Creek), her special lemon meringue birthday pies, monkey-face cookies, Thanksgiving dinners, and the Old Dutch Dinner. She was a retired CSEA employee who worked as a secretary for the Salinas Elementary School District for 32 years; her last 24 years at Natividad Elementary School. In her retirement years, she enjoyed traveling abroad with friends, reading best-sellers, and following her favorite baseball team, the Oakland A’s. She was an accomplished bowler, avid walker, and enjoyed drawing, painting and golf, along with spending time with her family. Mary is survived by her daughter Judy Lynn Allen of Arizona, grandsons Matthew DeQuasie and Leonard Allen Jr., granddaughters Lynda (Mike) Campos, Sherri (Miguel) Cano, Christine Bourquin, and Michele (Chris) Stanaszek. She also leaves behind 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren, as well as a multitude of nieces and nephews throughout California and the Mid-west who loved her dearly. She was preceded in death by her parents, Edmond and Florence Van Moer, 11 siblings, Elsie, Ida, Bertha, Agnes, Dorothy, Margaret, George, Herbert, Lester, Victor and Donald, two spouses, Kenneth DeWalt (WWII KIA) and James B DeQuasie, son, Michael J DeQuasie, and great-great granddaughters, Abigail and Emily Davi. The family wishes to extend its thanks to her care providers over the years: Dr. Jeannine Ellinwood, Dr. Justine Nghiem, Feel at Home Residential Care Facility and Katherine Healthcare; especially Terrie, Ermie, Naomi, and Gina in her final days. Viewing will be held at Healey Mortuary on Thursday, February 13th, from 1-7 PM, followed by a Rosary and Remembrance from 7-9PM. Funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church on Friday, February 14th at 1:30PM. Burial will take place at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, followed by a reception hosted by the family. Donations are encouraged to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, American Heart Association or Trisomy18 Foundation.