Mary Ann Hesser

Mary Ann Hesser, age 80, of Wellington, FL passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 12th after a long and courageous battle with PSP disease, surrounded by family and friends who loved her very much. Born and raised in Rome, NY to the late Florence and Joseph Lauri, she is a graduate of Rome Free Academy and SUNY College at Buffalo where she met Dale, her husband of 59 years. She was a career elementary school classroom teacher for over 25 years in the North Syracuse (NY) Central School District, retiring in 1996 and relocating to Wellington with her husband at that time. In retirement, among other activities, she was a longtime member of the Wellington Garden Club, served as a volunteer usher at the Kravis Performing Arts Center for over 16 years and as a member of the choir at St. Rita Catholic Church. She was talented at the piano, enjoyed reading and walking which she did passionately for many years until the progression of her disease took that enjoyment away from her. Besides her husband, the loves of her life were her son (Sean Hesser) of Buffalo NY and daughter (Michelle Kathleen Martinez) of Davie FL and was devoted to her two grandsons (Gunnar and Caden Martinez). Although the light of her life was dimming, her dignity shone brightly through the end. She was a friend to all, will be forever missed and always remembered. She is survived by her husband, Dale Hesser, son, Sean and wife, Rose (Myers) Hesser, daughter, Michelle and husband, Rich Martinez along with grandsons Gunnar and Caden, brother-in-law David Hesser and wife Gayle of Fleming Island FL and sister-in-law Lynnette Hesser Loucks and husband Stephen Loucks of Anniston, AL. The family would wish to recognize with grateful gratitude the faithful and loving care provided to Mary Ann over these past several years by her two home health aides, Sadie Jouan and Beverly Lacy, whose dedication to Mary Ann's well being helped her deal positively with the challenges of a terminal illness and also to the ICU nurses at Wellington Regional Hospital who provided such supportive care to Mary Ann through those final days. Services have been arranged through Palms West Funeral Home of Royal Palm Beach and include a memorial viewing on Friday evening June 17th from 6 to 8 pm at the funeral home. A funeral mass will take place at St. Rita Catholic Church in Wellington at 11:30 am on Saturday June 18th followed by burial at Queen of Peace Cemetery of Royal Palm Beach at 1 pm. By family request and in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary Ann's name to either the Trustbridge Foundation of West Palm Beach (trustbridge.com) or CurePSP of NYC (psp.org).