Mary Sturhahn, 74

Mary Sturhahn passed away on March 30, 2014, from cortical basal degeneration, a rare disease of the brain. While her thought process and memory remained intact, her body over the course of seven years slowly failed her.

Mary was born on May 1, 1939, and lived in Veblen, South Dakota, prior to moving to Laguna Beach, Calif., when she was 12 years old. When her mother passed away, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle Carol and Angelica Dimmette, who lived in Hollywood. Mary attended Immaculate Heart High School in Hollywood where she received honors on the swimming team. The close friendships she made in high school continued throughout her adult life.

During and after her college years she worked in many diverse areas including as secretary at Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades. In the 1970s she was active in the Junior National Charity League and served as president of the Los Angeles Chapter. Mary loved bridge and enjoyed paddle tennis at the Bel-Air Bay Club and golf at local courses in the Los Angeles area as well as in Palm Desert, where she and Dave had a home for nine years. Most of all Mary enjoyed her family and socializing with her many friends.

Mary met her future husband, Dave, on a blind date on board the U.S.S. Ticonderoga, an aircraft carrier, while it was stationed San Diego. It was love at first sight. They had a two-year courtship mostly by long distance as Dave was in the Navy and at sea most of the time. They were married on October 27, 1962, at Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills and moved to Pacific Palisades in 1965.

Mary and Dave had two daughters, Laurie Macintosh who lives in Long Beach and Caroline O’Rourke who lives in Pacific Palisades followed by three grandchildren, Mark and Katherine MacIntosh and Finn O’Rourke. In addition to the above she leaves her son in law Tim O’Rourke and her cousins Tom and Mike Donnelly.

She was pre-deceased by her parents Everett and Genevieve Schouweiler, brother Ronald Schouweiler, half-brother Mark Schouweiler and her aunt and uncle Carol and Angelica Dimmette.

There will be a funeral mass for Mary at Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 4. A reception at the lower Bel-Air Bay Club will follow the church service. A private burial will take place at a later date at Holy Cross Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers please make contributions to Corpus Christi Church in Pacific Palisades.