Mariel Ann Phillips Schubert

MARIEL ANN PHILLIPS SCHUBERT
Mrs. Mariel Ann Phillips Schubert, aged 80, passed away at her home in Santa Maria, CA on Friday, April 3, 2009 surrounded by her family. She died following a stroke suffered March 27, 2009. She had been recovering from a previous stroke in October 2008.
Mrs. Schubert was born Muriel Anne Phillips (later changed to Mariel Ann) on November 29, 1928 in Boscobel, Wisconsin, daughter of Mr. Chester Ray Phillips and his wife, Mrs. Esther Irene Greene Phillips. Mrs. Schubert was raised on the family farm in Crawford County, Wisconsin, until age 9, at which time the family moved to Boscobel, a township nearby. She had one sibling, Gladys Wilda Phillips, four years her junior. Though her immediate family was small, she grew up in a large extended family of many cousins with whom she was very close.
Mariel was an accomplished musician, mastering the clarinet at an early age. By high school, her skills exceeded the ability of her teachers who recommended that she be transferred to Milton College's Music Department in Madison, Wisconsin. She played clarinet in the Boscobel High School band and Milton College band and violin in the College orchestra, while tutoring students in woodwind, string and brass instruments. She also sang in the college choir and was a member of the Sigma Chi Zeta Sorority.
At Milton College, she met her future husband, James ‘Jimmy' Schubert of Honolulu, Hawaii, a student pianist, who played accompaniment for her clarinet and violin recitals, as well as served with her as custodians of the college's music studio. Mariel appreciated his assistance caring for the College's musical instruments because putting away the tubas was quite strenuous. They were married December 31, 1949 in Boscobel. They resided there for about two years, during which time Mariel had a son. She was unable to finish college, but continued to teach music before moving to Contra Costa County, CA. In Concord, Mrs. Schubert continued teaching music lessons until the birth of her third child in 1954, at which time she became a full-time homemaker, eventually raising seven children. There, she sang in the choir of St. Catherine's of Sienna Catholic Church until 1964, at which time she moved to Santa Maria when her husband was transferred to Vandenberg Air Force Base. She sang in the St. Louis de Montfort and St. Mary's of the Assumption Church choirs for more than thirty years. She volunteered her time and knowledge as a docent at the La Purisima Mission in Lompoc, CA., serving as Chairman of the Prelado de Los Tesoros de la Purisima, the governing Board and keepers of the treasures of the Mission, from 1980-1982.
Mariel was a kind and gentle soul, compassionate, loving and forgiving; however, she was full of spunk, possessed a strong will, and had a good sense of humor, all of which came in handy while raising her large brood of children. She was an expert at wielding the dreaded wooden spoon, as can be attested to by any of her children. She was a spiritual lady, devout Catholic, an avid reader and doll collector, and enjoyed writing poetry.
Mariel's ancestors came to America in colonial times, arriving in Massachusetts, founding the state of Rhode Island, and moving westward through Connecticut, New York, Vermont, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Five of her fourth great-grandfathers served in the Revolutionary War, and one in both the Revolutionary and French Indian Wars. Mrs. Schubert is a lineal descendent of William I, the Conqueror, who was the second Duke of Normandy and King of England in 1066; his fourth son Henry I Beauclerc, King of England in 1100; Geoffrey IV Plantagenet, Count d'Anjou, who was head of the English Kings ruling under the Plantagenet name; and John Lackland Plantagenet, King of England in 1199 and youngest son of King Henry II. She was also a cousin several times removed to Presidents George Washington and Ulysses S. Grant, protestant hymn lyricist Fanny Crosby, and women's suffrage movement leader Belva Green Lockwood.
Mrs. Schubert is survived by her husband, Mr. James Schubert of Santa Maria; children Mr. Laurence ‘Larry' Schubert and wife Kimberly (Vaccaro) of Nipomo, CA., Mr. Warren Schubert of Santa Maria, Mrs. Anne Schubert-Reyes and husband Harold Reyes of Ojai, CA., Mr. Phillip ‘Phil' Schubert and wife Jayne (Jenkins) of Santa Maria, Mr. Jeffery ‘Jeff' Schubert and wife Kelly (Klocke) of Dedham, IA., Mr. Mark Schubert and wife Valerie (Vasques) of Santa Maria, and Mrs. Cathleen ‘Cathi' Finks and husband Jack Finks of Santa Maria; her sister, Mrs. Gladys Phillips Guerra and husband Alfred Guerra of Wildomar, CA.; grandchildren Joseph ‘JoBe' Alloway, Aaron Alloway, Lawrence ‘Skinny Larry' Schubert, Jack ‘Jack-Jack' Finks, Jaycen Finks, and Joel Finks, all of Santa Maria; Kathleen and Kristine Vacarro of Nipomo, CA., Mrs. Jessica Gonzalez of Fresno, CA., Odinn Alloway of Stockton, CA., Mrs. Tonya Wyes of Ventura, CA., Amara Schubert of Ojai, CA., Mrs. Stephanie Vanleeuwen of Idaho; Cheryl Schubert of Oregon; and Mark Schubert, stationed on a military base in Germany; first cousins Mr. John ‘Jack' Greene of Edgerton, WI., Mrs. Ellen Porter of Deforest, WI., Mrs. Audrey Bos of Schoolkraft, MI., Mrs. Lola Moran of Boscobel, WI., Mrs. Janet Rickman of Fishtail, WI., Ivan Greene of Merrimac, WI., Vilas Greene of Onalaska, WI., Eulala West of Viroqua, WI.; and sixteen great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. George Washington Phillips (1932), Elizabeth Crook (1901), William Tompkins Green (1933), and Ella Marie Duncan (1950); her parents, Mr. Chester Ray Phillips (1961) and Mrs. Esther Irene Greene Phillips (1980); and two grandchildren, Master Glenn Schubert (1975), and Mrs. Sarah Sue Bowdish Hernandez (2007).
A funeral mass will be held Tuesday, April 7th,12:30 pm, at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church, 1190 East Clark Avenue, Santa Maria. Services will be followed by a reception in the church parish hall. Mrs. Schubert's ashes will be interred alongside her parents at Arroyo Grande Cemetery, 895 El Camino Real, Arroyo Grande, CA. Arrangements have been made with Magner-Maloney Funeral Home and Crematory, 600 East Stowell Road, Santa Maria. For further information, please call the family at (805) 937-2234, Church Rectory at (805) 937-4559, or the Funeral Home at (805) 925-2753.

Love, Compassion and Mercy
(except with a wooden spoon)