Mary Struve

My best memories of Mary were when we went birding together. We would sit near some marsh, eating peanut butter sandwiches, dogs by our side and just watch the various birds that would come to the area. She captured the exquisite feathering and definitive stance of many birds in the photos that she took.

Some memories from other friends of Mary:

"She had an unparalleled memory of things she had experienced and saw. Also she had an amazing capacity of doing things which we ordinary people ask other people to do for us, such as fixing a refrigerator! She was very kind to people who needed help, always helping them with shopping and chores."

"She was very kind to me and my family.
She was a reassuring presence on our block and brought a sense of community to all of...

Mary was a good friend to four generations of my family.

I grew up two doors away from Mary. After my mother, Alice, helped Mary learn to drive, they became fast friends. When my first marriage failed I stayed with my parents and as an adult grew to know and appreciate Mary's friendship. I moved to the midwest in 1982 but kept up my friendship with Mary on my trips back to Berkeley.

In the mid 1980's, both Mary and my mother became widows. By this time my mother...

When I was in 5th grade, my mother Mary took me out of school for a week - over the protests of the principal - to attend daily showings of MGM classic films at a theater in Berkeley. (This was pre-VCR or DVD player of course.) We saw Pride & Prejudice with Laurence Olivier, Captains Courageous with Spencer Tracy and others. My mother told the principal that this was more educational than anything I could have learned in school that week.
My mother and I had our differences - I was an...