Mary Kathleen Myers, 74 years old, passed away peacefully in the arms of angels on May 12, 2024 in Vacaville, Ca.
Mary was born June 04, 1949 in Richmond, Calif., to the late Paul and Olive Myers. Mary was an identical twin and the eldest of eight children, all of whom attended Saint Paul’s Catholic Elementary School in San Pablo. After graduating from Richmond High School, she married the love of her life and high school sweetheart, Dan Cranford, on January 26, 1969. Their marriage was blessed with two sons Eric Daniel in 1970 and Danny Wesley in 1977 both of whom were her greatest joy.
Mary was proudly employed as a civilian for the Oakland Army Base during Operation Desert Storm as a Cargo Systems Analyst loading ships, trucks, and trains making sure our soldiers got what they needed in the theatre until the official base closure in the late 1990’s. Mary then worked as a civilian employee for the United States Coast Guard as a Contract Specialist for many years until her retirement in 2015. She was very patriotic and dedicated to serving our country. While working full time, Mary earned her college degree and graduated from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Ca.
Mary loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Each fall Mary hosted the family Thanksgiving and spent weeks collecting the neighbor’s fallen leaves in a huge pile on her front lawn for the children to play in. One of her many joys was organizing and helping with family potlucks, parties, and social gatherings especially around the holidays. She loved having family, relatives and friends together sharing each other’s company, news, laughs, fun and food.
Mary enjoyed many hobbies including gardening and was especially fond of her roses. She also loved to browse and collect antiques and created a warm, cozy, and welcoming atmosphere in her home. She was an active participant for 38 consecutive years in the annual Bay-to-Breakers 7 mile footrace held in San Francisco. Mary and her twin sister, Margaret, won many awards for their costumes thru the years and in 2008 their butterfly design costumes were chosen as part of the official Bay-to-Breakers advertising campaign for shirts, TV, Muni buses, and newspapers. Mary was the first female co-chair and active member of Beachcomber Singles and made several memorable trips to Mexico and Hawaii with them. She also enjoyed travelling to Ireland, Scotland, Vietnam, Cuba, as well as extensive trips throughout the U.S. with family and friends.
In her retirement she volunteered for meals-on-wheels delivering to seniors and homebound clients. She also spent time volunteering for the Pinole Garden Club, rowing with the Whaleboats Team in SF Bay Area, and assisting release of baby turtles to the ocean in Mexico.
Mary is survived by her sons Eric and Danny (Holly); grandchildren, Joe (Stevie), Savannah (Taylor), and Danny; Great grandchildren Jordon, Wesley, and Shay, her sisters and brothers, Margaret ( John), John (Linda), Kathryn (Dave), Paul (Susan), Charles, and Jerry as well as many nephews, nieces, cousins, aunts, uncles, and extended family members and friends.
Mary embraced life with a positive, contagiously joyful attitude, always thankful for her blessings, and maintaining amazing resilience. She touched countless lives with warmth, kindness, generosity and understanding, leaving behind cherished memories that will remain in our hearts forever.
A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on June 8, 2024 at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in San Pablo, Ca. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Mary’s name be made to:
Alzheimer's Association
225 N. Michigan Ave. Floor 17 Chicago, IL 60601
E-mail: https://act.alz.org/site/Donation
Phone: 1-800-272-3900
Or
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
322 Eighth Avenue, 16th Floor
New York, NY 10001
E-mail: https://alzfdn.org
Phone: 1-866-232-8484
