Mary Ann Froman's Obituary
Mary Ann Froman, of Milpitas, California, passed away on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at the age of 77. She was a creative soul whose loving nature rippled out from her friends and family and into the community.
Mary Ann was born to Leslie and Myrtle Gunning on July 8, 1940, in Neponset, Illinois. She grew up on the family farm with her older brother, Howard, and attended Neponset High School. In 1958, she moved to Chicago to study nursing and met her soon-to-be-husband, Gerald Froman. The Illinois winters propelled the couple to relocate to the West Coast in the mid 1960s with their girls, Loralie and Lisa.
In the 1970s, to help support the fledgling family, Mary Ann took a job at the Milpitas Post Office. She enjoyed her job walking outdoors and spoke fondly of residents in “The Pines,” where she delivered mail. Mary Ann retired early, in her 50s, to care for her ailing husband. During this time, she spent evenings volunteering for the Suicide and Crisis Prevention Hotline.
In the 1990s, Mary Ann transitioned into careers that reflected her desire to serve. She managed the adult literacy program, Partners in Reading, at the San Jose Public Library. Also, she became a drug and alcohol counselor for the Salvation Army, where she helped at-risk men stay off the streets and out of jail.
Mary Ann remained connected to the rural Illinois of her childhood, frequently visiting the family farm in Neponset with her family in the 1970s and 1980s. The couple brought the country back to California, filling their home with Midwestern antiques and planting their property with vegetables and fruit trees.
In addition to her work in the community, Mary Ann had a flair for the arts and crafts of her rural mid-century upbringing. She was a skillful seamstress and enjoyed crocheting, gardening, cooking, and canning. She wrote poetry, was keen to the humor of the well-chosen word, and known for her wry wit.
Mary Ann was cremated, and her ashes will be spread along with those of her husband, Gerald, who died in 1994. She is survived by her daughters, Loralie and Lisa Froman, of Oakland, California, as well as many nieces and nephews: Patti Gunning, of Houston, Texas; Darcia KleinSmid and Greg KleinSmid, both of San Jose, California; and Kim Kniss, of Ventura, California.
In the last years of her life, she took great comfort in the companionship of her personal aide, Merrill Gillaspy, of Berkeley, California, for which the family is grateful.
A memorial will be held at Chaparral House on October 15, 2017, at 3 p.m., at 1309 Allston Way, Berkeley, CA, 94702. All are welcome. Condolences may be sent to 334 Hanover Avenue, Oakland, CA, 94606.
Mary Ann wrote evocative poetry, but none of her poems was more expressive of her youth and its effect on her life than “Pearly Gate”:
PEARLY GATE
There is no sound like the nicker of a greeting
In a dark barn
A nibble with a muzzle both soft and bristly
Searching for a sugar lump
But settling for my palm
Heaven is probably like that
I miss horses
I miss the sight of them
Their form and stature
Their sturdy presence
I miss the sweet smell of lather and sweat
Long to hear the deep rumblings of communication
Between then and now
Yes, I miss horses
Especially mine
But actually I miss them all
Even the ones I can’t see
But feel as mighty friends
Waiting by the gate
Mary Ann Froman
October 2012
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