Marion Mumper

Marion Mumper Resident of Livermore Marion Mumper, 82, died peacefully at Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Walnut Creek, on September 24th, 2010, with her family at her side. Born November 16th, 1927, to Ernest and Rosalia Wadswith, Marion was an Oakland native and attended local schools. Upon her high school graduation, she began a lively work life, first employed while still a teenager at Macy's in Oakland (as a travelling hat buyer), then at the newly opened Mapes Hotel and Casino, in Reno NV (as a cocktail waitress and card dealer), then for Sears department stores in Hayward (in credit and collections), and lastly for the Livermore Unified School District, first as a principal's secretary at Arroyo Mocho Elementary School, and finally as secretary to the vice superintendent of schools. On August 26th, 1951, she married William Clair Mumper, and together they made their homes in Hayward, Livermore, and simultaneously in Modesto and Mesa, AZ, before finally settling back in Livermore in 1996. Marion truly believed in giving of herself and of her many talents, and she volunteered generously throughout her life. Just a partial list of her volunteer contributions include serving on the Livermore Arts Council, serving on the Board of the Livermore Friendship Center, serving as a CSEA treasurer, teaching reading to ESL students, organizing activities for the Boy's and Girl's Club, helping organize office staffs at various hospice organizations, teaching tennis to seniors, visiting rest homes, and offering Pre-Cana counseling through her church, where she also contributed greatly in many ways. She was also very active in local politics and events, and some may still remember her as the "Festmiesterin" of the 1972 Livermore Sommerfest. Marion will be especially remembered for her incredible energy, her lust for social life and inborn talent for entertaining, her love of vacationing at Lake Tahoe and for visiting San Francisco ("her city"), and for her selfless desire to give and to help others. She wanted to be remembered as a person "Who Tried"; who tried consciously to be a good wife, mother, grandmother, friend and neighbor. She thanked God for the faith that He had given her, and how gently she felt treated by Him, and she longed to be seen in His eyes as "one of the grateful ones." Marion was preceded in death by all of her parents and siblings, her loving husband Bill, and her sons Newton Clair Mumper and James Alan Mumper. Survivors include her daughter Melanie Amalia Ulricksen, of Pleasanton, and her sons William Clair Mumper, Jr., of Fontana, CA, and Matthew Todd Mumper, of San Francisco, along with eight grandchildren. She touched many many lives, was greatly loved, and will be greatly missed. Services will be announced at a future date. Memorial contributions are welcome at A Friendly Manor, 2298 San Pablo Ave, Oakland, CA 94612