Mary Ann Heaton Spitters

1927 - 2018

Mary Ann Heaton Spitters
1/15/1927 - 2/13/2018
Resident of Los Altos
Mary Ann Heaton Spitters was called home by our Lord on February 13, 2018 at age 91, in peace and surrounded by her family following a yearlong battle with cancer. Predeceasing Mary Ann were her parents, Mary Vera (nee Dickinson) and Harry Gordon Heaton of Eaton Rapids, Michigan, her infant brother, John, and her sister, Nancy Heaton Simon of Houston, Texas.
Born in Lansing, Michigan, Mary Ann graduated from Marywood Academy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics and nutrition from St. Mary's College Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana and then moved on to her work in the tuberculosis ward at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan before accepting a position as Associate Head of Dietetics at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Following her move to California in 1955, Mary Ann worked at the State of California Department of Public Health in Berkeley and in San Francisco, California. She raised her family in Palo Alto for 38-years before moving to Los Altos in 1996.
Mary Ann is survived by a large extended family including her eight children and their spouses and many grandchildren, one sister, several nieces and nephews along with many friends and admirers from every corner of the country who befriended and cherished her.
Love of her college alma mater and appreciation for travel, architecture, garden clubs, fine art, classical music and opera were attractions and interests that sustained her through midlife and into her years as a gentle and willing senior. She viewed her education and work-experiences as gifts which gave way to opportunities to help and aid others. Her commitment towards helping young people advance through literacy and education were of paramount importance to her. The influence and effects that her Marywood and St. Mary's College experiences had in her life were blessings that she was so proud to have and share. Above all, her devotion to her faith and to God supported her in both life and in death.
As she advanced in years, it was important to our Mom to make a difference and to matter in the lives of those who were in need or crisis. She shall be greatly missed by all whom she touched and impacted through her dedication to the homeless, hungry, abused and destitute whom she energetically prayed for and considered the true children of God. She would often say, "We shall be measured and judged by how we treat the least amongst us"; "There, but for the grace of God, go I", and, "Do unto others…".
Our family is thankful to Pathways Home Health and Hospice, Institute on Aging, her primary care physicians and her private caregivers who provided outstanding and exceptional care for her during the final months of her life. These are people who perform boundless, selfless and heroic work in the name of preserving grace and dignity for the aged and dying. God bless them, one and all.
A memorial Mass in celebration of Mary Ann's life shall be held on Saturday February 24 at 10AM at St. Nicholas Catholic Church at 473 Lincoln Ave. Los Altos, CA, assisted by Spangler Mortuaries. A reception in the church hall will follow when the private family burial at Gate of Heaven Catholic Cemetery in Los Altos concludes at 12:30pm. In lieu of flowers or gifts, the family requests that contributions be made in Mary Ann's honor to Family Supportive Housing 692 N. King Road, San Jose, CA 95133.


View the online memorial for Mary Ann Heaton Spitters