Mary Louise Essel

1920 - 2010

On Nov. 13, 2010, Mary Louise Essel passed away at home after a long illness.

She was born Sept. 25, 1920 in Chicago, the youngest of three girls. Her sisters, Betty and Selma, preceded her in death. Her family moved to Webster Grove, Mo., where Mary spent most of her childhood. They moved back to Chicago when Mary was 15 so her sisters, and then Mary, could attend the University of Chicago. In the late 1930s they moved to their 10-acre farm in Canoga Park, Calif. Mary married, and later divorced, Holmes Emery, with whom she had two daughters, Janice and Margaret. Janice died in Boise, Idaho, in 1992. Margaret (now Margaret Lotts) lives in Ojai.

After her divorce, Mary, now a single mother, worked as a waitress in Encino. Unhappy with the local schools, she moved to Ojai in 1952 and enrolled Janice in the newly formed Happy Valley School, which was co-founded by Aldous Huxley, Guido Ferrando, and Krishnamurti. There she met and married David Essel, a teacher at the school. They had a daughter, Catherine. Mary became a school house-parent, also working as a waitress at her friend Alan Hooker's Ranch House Restaurant.

In the 1950s and early 60s Mary's family spent wonderful summers in Sequoia and Yosemite where David was a seasonal Ranger Naturalist. For three months each year they lived in a tent cabin at Tuolumne Meadows and White Wolf. There they climbed mountains, enjoyed nightly campfires and took high Sierra mule trips. The beauty and serenity of Nature nurtured in Mary and family an appreciation and loving care for all living things.

Mary's love for animals was very deep. As a child, and throughout her life, she refused to eat meat. Her home was always open as a refuge for injured and homeless animals. She was an animal rights advocate and worked tirelessly on their behalf. Mary and David's interest in Krishnamurti's teachings led to many summers in Switzerland. There, Krishnamurti gave public talks similar to those held in Ojai. Mary enjoyed climbing in the Alps and hiking the wildflower-filled meadows. In summer 1964 they took a three-month tour of Europe in a VW camper bus, visiting many historic sites. In 1995 Mary and David traveled to Madras, India to attend the centenary of Krishnamurti's birth with the Dalai Lama as guest speaker.

Mary enjoyed music of all kinds, folk, jazz, and opera alike. She had a lovely soprano voice and for three years was a member of the Ventura Concert Chorale. She constantly sang around the house. Mary passed away quietly in her sleep on a sunny autumn morning, surrounded by David, Margaret, and Catherine. She was a cheerful, loving mother and wife, quietly sensitive and deeply compassionate in all her relationships. The beauty and essence of her love remains with us, strong and vibrant.

She wished to be cremated and her ashes spread in those natural places she enjoyed so much. In her memory, a tree will be planted in the Oak Grove, Meiners Oaks, on Besant Road, Sunday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m. All friends are invited.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Krishnamurti Foundation of America. Arrangements were entrusted to the care Charles Carroll Funeral Home.