Maryann M. Westhoff

1927 - 2018

Maryann M. Westhoff died Saturday, April 14, 2018, at the age of 90, at her new home in Salinas, Calif., where she moved in June 2017 to be closer to family.

Maryann was born Oct. 25, 1927, in St. Louis. She was the youngest of two children born to Henry S. and Aurelia A. Miller. On Nov. 24, 1950, she married the love of her life, John L. Westhoff, in St. Louis. They were married for 65 happy years. He preceded her in death on Jan. 16, 2016.

Growing up in St. Louis, Maryann graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1943. She attended Washington University and the University of Missouri, receiving her bachelor of arts degree in education in 1948. Maryann began her teaching career in Quincy where she taught kindergarten and first grade at Madison, Jefferson and Jackson schools. She started working in the Head Start Program in 1965, where she was a social worker and teacher. In 1978, Maryann became director of Head Start and served as director of the program until her retirement in 1988.

Maryann was very active in many areas of life in Quincy. She served as a member of the Library Board of Trustees for 16 years and as president from 1985-1991. She was a volunteer and president of the Women's Board at Blessing Hospital, a member and past president of the Atlantis Study Group, and a member of the Salvation Army Board and past president. She was instrumental on advisory boards in the creation of the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. Maryann also served on the Quincy Preservation Committee and as chairman on the Quincy University Polis organization. She fueled her lifelong interest in children by teaching Sunday school at First Union Congregational Church long after retirement.

Maryann enjoyed tennis, knitting and bridge. She was an avid reader, and most of all, her friends and family remember she was a devoted and talented tap dancer, performing well into her 70s. She was a member of First Union Congregational Church and the Quincy Country Club.

Maryann is survived by daughter, Ann Sorvino and her husband, Skip, and daughter, Amy Bonano and her husband, Kenneth; four grandchildren, Sofia (Ben) and Vic (Megan) Sorvino, Dr. John (Adelina) Bonano and Francesca (Connor) Farotte; two great-granddaughters, Lola Sorvino Sherwood and Charlotte May Farotte; and three nieces and their families, all who loved her deeply and are missing her already.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her father, Henry; her mother, Aurelia; brother, Donald; sister-in-law, Nancy Miller; mother and father-in-law, Joseph and Mildred Westhoff; and great-niece, Jenna (Miller) Fox.

SERVICES: 11 a.m. Saturday, April 21, at First Union Congregational Church with the Rev. Chuck Hetzler conducting. The family invites everyone to join them in celebration of Maryann with a light brunch immediately following in the basement banquet room at the church. Private burial will be in Greenmount Cemetery.

VISITATION: 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 21, at First Union Congregational Church.

MEMORIALS: First Union Congregational Church or the Salvation Army Hometown Endowment.

WEBSITE: hansenspear.com.

ARRANGEMENTS: Hansen-Spear Funeral Home.

Condolences may be expressed online at whig.com.