Mary Ann Whaley died June 2, 2015, in Berkeley, CA, at the age of 86 following a brief illness. A long-time resident of Berkeley, she was born in Stockton, CA, to Marvin Haller Paddock and Hilda Kingery Paddock, who both preceded her in death, as did her sister Patricia Allen Rowell of Penn Valley, CA.
A graduate of Stockton High School, she went on to attend College of the Pacific where she was a member of Tau Kappa Kappa (later Delta Delta Delta) sorority, graduating with a degree in Fine Arts. After college she moved to San Francisco to participate in the Emporium’s Management Training program. She became a Department Manager at their first branch store at Stonestown and later served as an Assistant Department Manager at their flagship store on Market Street in SF. While raising her family, she conducted many children’s art programs at nursery schools in Berkeley and Kensington and at Oakland’s Junior Center of Arts.
Her joys in life included family, friends, literature, family trips to Tahoe and Canada, travels with her husband around the US and in Europe following retirement, attending symphony concerts and opera, arts and crafts, gardening, photography, volunteer work, and the beautiful coastlines of California and Oregon. Mary Ann loved her garden, specializing in succulents and orchids. She was a 21-year member of Berkeley Clinic Auxiliary and a 31-year member of Chapter EL, P.E.O.
Mary Ann is survived by her beloved husband of 61 years, Baird Whaley of Berkeley, and by her daughter Patricia Lynne Whaley (Mitchell S. Klein) of Oakland, CA, and son Kenneth Marvin Whaley (Elina S. Whaley) of St. Petersburg, Russia; her grandchildren Elizabeth Klein, Andrei Whaley, and Anton Whaley; and her niece Susan Elston of Marysville, CA.
At Mary Ann’s request, no services will be held. Arrangements by Sunset View Cemetery Association. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions in her name to the Peninsula Symphony, 146 Main St. #102, Los Altos CA 94022; or Symphony Silicon Valley, PO Box 790, San Jose, CA 95106, or to the organization of your choice.
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