Mary Margaret (Cotter) Sweeney

I have many great memories from my childhood & teen years of Mary, Mike and kids. Us Healy kids & Sweeney kids were all adopted which was a shared bond. I remember Mary as so elegant. We sadly didn´t see her after the divorce but Mike remained a big presence in our lives and at all the parties. We saw Daniel at the SCU scholarship luncheon a few years ago which is another parallel path as we also have a Healy Family Scholarship. Would love to try & reconnect with Sweeney, Yarbrough & Healy visit sometime! Blessings to you all !!

She will be loved and missed. She was wonderful to me. I´m blessed to have known her and have as my aunt. She opened her heart and home to me and my dad about 13 years ago for a visit. It was a wonderful time. Admirable in her personal and professional life. She gave it all she had. Strengthened us all in our bonding of family. Blessings to all. Shelly

Anna you wrote an absolutely beautiful and brilliant piece about your mom. I will miss Aunt Mary forever! Sending love and hugs to all of you! Joan

I was in a very dark place when I met Mary. I became one of her patients when she saw me for my depression, around when I was 11. Though I didn't stay with her for too long, I owe so much to Mary's kindness and ability to connect with me even through my emotional distress, including - and I firmly believe this - my life. She stayed in my thoughts throughout my growing up, and I was heartbroken to hear that she had passed. But as many others have said, Mary lived a good, long life, and she was happy. And given all she's done for all of us, I believe that's just the tip of the iceberg of what she deserved. I'm an adult now, and studying psychology to become a therapist, so that I may help others in the way Mary has helped me. Mary, I hope you know just how much you inspired me, and how much you meant to me - to all of us. May you rest in peace knowing you left such a warm, positive impact on this world.

We were so fortunate to be neighbors of Mary. She lived right across the street from us and was the Grand Matriarch of the block. She will be remembered by her quick wit , grand style, and a loving friend to all. We would have her over every year for Halloween parties where she took much pleasure in the dressed up children. She was the best of the best! I will always think back about what a lovely person she was inside and out. There was nothing that you could ask her that she didn't know about, traveling around the world was her passion, besides raising her beautiful children. She will be missed by all who knew her. When I look across the street, I can see her at home, keeping a watchful eye on us. Until we meet again, Larry and Kirk

In loving memory of a wonderful person. I have/will always remember you as my favorite and most awesome instructor at San Jose City College. Your teachings are what kept me in working and teaching young children. Thank you and I honor you.
Carmen Martinez

I met Mary in 2009 when I started my training at the Process Therapy Institute. We crossed paths many times and always had interesting, meaningful conversations. I remember visiting her beautiful home for a holiday gathering and seeing how her gracious style and presence infused her environments. I was privileged to get to use her kindly curated room at PTI to work with some of my clients over the years. My memories of Mary are her twinkling eyes and merry sense of humor, her emotional capacity to pivot from silliness, laughter, and playfulness to depth, intensity, and reflective focus. I admired her feisty energy and looked forward to each time we got to interact. What a blessing that she got 89 years of touching people´s lives on this planet. I consider myself lucky to be one of those people. May merry flights of angels sing you to wherever the sweet spark of you flies...

So grateful to have crossed paths with Mary at PTI. Her passion and love of her work was always expressed. I was inspired by her love of travel and desire to continue being in service to others as she aged. Much love to her family and friends.

Though I never had the pleasure of meeting her, I am very inspired by the focus and vision with which Mary lived her life. I am also deeply appreciative of the care with which she furnished room 9 at PTI.

Mary was a wonderful, beloved Aunt with a great sense of humor. I loved sending her the silliest cards I could find and looked forward to her phone calls to discuss them. I loved her so much and will truly miss her! Her three children and grandchildren were her pride and joy

I never had the pleasure of meeting this woman, but I was so impressed with her wonderful obituary which expressed her dedication to children, parenting skills, and genuine, caring involvement in healthy lives for families. May this wonderful child advocate RIP.