Mary (Doe) Therese Devitt

Mother, nurse, massage therapist, friend. Mary Devitt (aka "Doe," "Mom," "Grandma Doe," "Aunt Doe," "Mrs. Arzbaecher") was all of these to many people. A beautiful woman and a beautiful soul.

A listening, accepting ear to whom to confess your disappointments, especially those you have in yourself. A healing presence. Someone to help you get through the beautiful and challenging gift this life is, one day at a time. Life is such a wonderful gift! Mary knew it and was so grateful for it. Gratitude, service to others, joyfulness (what a wonderful laugh she had, and how freely she shared it), courage, and humility defined Mary.

Her life had many chapters. The sixth child of Anna (Kelly) and James Devitt, she was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. She got married at 19 to the tall, dashing Bill Arzbaecher (Jr.). With Bill, Mary had six children (in less than seven years!). She and Bill lovingly raised their Irish sextuplets (Anne, Jean, Bill, Mary Clare, Heidi, and Kelly), along with a large Rottweiler and girl-crazy Golden Retriever, on the south side of Chicago (Mount Greenwood) and the western suburbs (Hinsdale). After her marriage to Bill ended, Mary went to school, got her bachelor's degree, and became a nurse. She worked as a nurse for many years in Chicago, at Mercy and Loretta Hospitals. After a lengthy sabbatical of travel and study (at Esalon in Big Sur), Mary became a massage therapist. She moved to Fountain Hills, Arizona, where she developed a thriving practice. She later retired to Sacramento, where she lived the last decade of her life.

Both in Arizona and Sacramento, Mary continued to be a great support to her children and grandchildren, and to her former husband, Bill, with whom she remained lifelong friends. And she made a great many dear, lifelong friends wherever she went, her spiritual family. Mary is survived by all her children but Jean (who passed two years earlier), by her six loving grandchildren (Luke, Ellinor, Natalia, Lillie, Oliver, and Jacob), by many beloved nieces, nephews, in-laws and cousins, and by many, many dear friends. We love you, Mary, and will miss you. We are grateful to you beyond words. You quietly meant so much to us all.