Mary Ann "Cambra" Woods

1919 - 2020

September 28, 1919 - November 28, 2020

It is with great sorrow that we announce that 2020 was Mary Ann's last harvest. She was the last child of 12 children born to Joe and Ida Cambra. Unfortunately, her mother died in 1930 when she was just 5 months old.

Her God parents in Gridley, the Pedrozos, took in Mary Ann and cared for her until she was 15 months old. With the onset of the Depression, they had four children of their own and could not possibly take care of one more child for very long.

They took exemplary care of her while they had her and with much sadness, but with her best interest at heart they arranged to place her in another home with a Portuguese couple in Gridley, named John and Isabelle Braz who were not able to have children of their own.

When she was four years old, the family of three moved to a small ranch in Yuba City. When she was 11 she encouraged her parents to buy a 50 acre ranch a few miles down the road. They had a dairy at that location and would continue to dairy farm until right before the flood of 1955. She would call that location home for the next 80 years.

She went to Barry School, where, in the fourth grade, she played on the "A" team in Softball. The family has heard many stories, from old schoolmates, about her ability to hit and field the ball.

Her parents were from the old country and were very protective of her. She wasn't allowed to do the ordinary things most children and teens are allowed to do but they did allow her to have a horse, her hunting dogs and her guns. These would be her companions while growing up on the ranch.

She was married to Cecil Maciel for 32 years. They had three children together. Two sons, Joseph and Lawrence Maciel and one daughter, Rose Maciel Foster. In 1991 Mary Ann married Howard Woods. They were together until his passing in 2008.

She was a farmer for 70 years. After selling off the dairy, they farmed walnuts, prunes, milo, alfalfa and melon seed crops. Her ranch did specialty custom farm jobs including backhoe work, blade work, duck blind installation and custom harvesting for prunes and walnuts.

The ranch started doing weed abatement in 1995 for local businesses and developers and eventually did those jobs as far away as Folsom. She was very mechanically inclined. She was hard on her equipment so in turn it made her a good mechanic.

She had an exceptional work ethic. She admired that quality in others, especially in her grandchildren. She worked hard and she expected every able-bodied person around her to do the same. She had no use for lazy people.

One year, during the mid-1960's, she had the highest yield per acre on her ranch for all the growers of the seed company they were contracted with. The seed company had a history of honoring the farmer who out performed the other growers and they asked her to come to the dinner.

In those days, it was common for only the men to get an invitation to these events. When they told her she had won and they wanted her to attend to accept the award, she told them she felt it was cheap of them to not include the wives, she would not attend their dinner and they could keep their award.

She was an avid hunter and fisherman. As a youth she would bring home ducks, geese and pheasants for her mom to prepare. She fished the Sacramento and the Feather rivers for salmon, sturgeon and striper every year. Those that fished with her said she was as good on the river as any guide. In her later years she would go on fishing trips on the Columbia river and fish for sturgeon.

She and Howard would go up into the mountains every fall and go to their deer hunting spot bringing home deer every year. In 2014, at the age of 85, she decided she wanted to go out of state to hunt elk. She brought home an enormous elk from Craig, Colorado. The following year she went mule deer hunting in Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Although she did get a shot off, she joked that that was the only time she had ever missed.

She liked to be around people. She never missed an opportunity to gather for any occasion and celebrate. If she got an invitation, she was there. She was always the first one at the party and she parked up front! Cambra family parties in the Central Valley were some of her favorite occasions.

She loved and had a genuine interest in her family. She called frequently to ask about us, the grandkids and the great-grandkids. If anyone was sick, she was the first one there with a homemade meal, groceries or anything you needed.

She liked to gamble. Whether it was at the kitchen table, in the 60's and 70's, playing penny ante poker with the neighbors, who showed up for coffee at her house in the winter, or later on in her life at high stakes poker tournaments.

Once while attending an after-harvest party at the neighbor's ranch, some years back, she was invited to join in the skeet competition that they had that day. She tried to get out of it by saying she hadn't brought a gun. The hosts said we have one for you. She said she didn't bring any ammunition either. Again, they insisted that they had enough ammunition and strongly urged her to come join the fun. That day Mary Ann took first place in the women's competition and third place in the men's group.

She walked with a swagger and cussed like a sailor…sometimes. She was an original. A one of a kind. Unforgettable. She was a member of the NRA, Yuba Sutter Farm Bureau, and St. Isidore Catholic Church.

Mary Ann is preceded in death by her husband, Howard Woods; and her two sons, Joseph and Lawrence Maciel; her parents; and her 11 siblings. ~She is survived by her daughter, Rose Foster (Brad); granddaughters, Shannon Foster, Tierney Foster and Jennifer Holmes (Eric); grandson, Eric Foster (Theresa); great-grandsons, Andrew Maciel, Trevor Holmes, Gairett Holmes, Hayden Foster and Eli Foster; great-granddaughters, Channing McKee, Saige Foster, Harper Foster, June Foster and Dayvanie Holmes; great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth Maciel; and great-great-grandson, Edwin Maciel.

A viewing will be held Sunday, December 13, 2020, from 10:00-2:00 PM followed by the rosary at 2:00 PM at Ullrey's Memorial Chapel.

Services will be on Monday, December 14, 2020, at 9:30 AM at St. Isidore Catholic Church. They will be officiated by Father Francisco Hernandez-Gomez. Burial will follow at the Sutter Cemetery.

These arrangements are all contingent upon the Covid-19 situation at that time in Sutter County. She would not want her last act to be a super spreader event. If we are allowed to gather, wear a little red. It was her favorite color. If we are not able to host her family and friends because of county regulations at the time, or if you are unable to attend because of health concerns, the family and Mary Ann will understand, and know you are there in spirit.

Mary Ann loved children. She always wanted to hear what they had to say. To honor that, in lieu of flowers, please make donations to either the Shriners Hospital for Children or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in her memory.