Mari Bisbee

1952 - 2016

Bisbee, Mari
A beautiful and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, and best friend to many who knew her, was taken to be with God on Monday, February 29, 2016. A woman of great Christian faith with a gentle and creative soul, she proved to be a courageous and brave warrior in her long fight with cancer. She was born February 23, 1952, in Tokyo, Japan, to her father, Col. Frederick Schmaltz, a career US Army officer and D-Day veteran, and to her mother, Gail Thurber Schmaltz, a WWII US Army nurse and career community health nurse. Her parents preceded her in death. She was an only child who graduated from US services high school in Germany in 1970, and from San Diego State University in 1974. She was married to Steve Bisbee on May 7, 1977, and they both shared a love for one another beyond measure, living as one for all these many years. God blessed her with two wonderful sons, Matthew (Brandy) and Michael, and two beautiful grandchildren, Ethan and Audrey. She was a member of Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale. She loved oldies music, scary movies, doing craft projects, and being with her family. She belonged to various dog rescue organizations over the years as well. Gracious, gifted, and loving, we shall miss her so very much. Her memorial service will be at 12 p.m. on Monday, March 7, 2016, at the Messinger Mortuary Indian School chapel, 7601 E. Indian School Rd., Scottsdale, AZ, following the memorial service at 11 a.m. at the same chapel for her mother-in-law and dear friend, Leah Bisbee-Wells, who passed on Tuesday, March 1st. The family asks that donations be made in Mari's memory to Hospice of the Valley Eckstein Center, Scottsdale (www.hov.org/donate-now).