Marie Herbert's Obituary
Maria Herbert, age 91, died Friday afternoon, December 2, at her home of the last two years, Senior Living Whitehall. She was the wife of Paul Herbert, deceased September 24, 2009; the mother of Kathleen (Eric) Boeschenstein and Frances Herbert Poma; the "Gram" of Taylor Boeschenstein and Alivia Rutkowski, and the friend of many from the ages of 19 to 90. Maria was very proud of her Sicilian heritage and of being the first in her family's circle of friends to attend college and become an elementary school teacher in 1954 teaching for over thirty years and maintaining friendships with some of her students throughout her life. Maria was fascinated by the natural world teaching her students and daughters about monarchs, metamorphosis, and ecology long before today's movements to Save the Monarchs and recycling became popular. She was a backyard bird watcher with a large repertoire of bird identification knowledge accompanied by a good collection of bird books. She was known, however, to often throw clothespins at the sliding doors to scare away the birds she thought were eating too much at her feeders. She was an avid reader and collector of everything, most especially recipes and greeting cards. Summers at her cottage outside of Fremont were looked forward to every year where she sunned, walked in the woods and the water, and enjoyed the peaceful sunsets. Maria died of metastasized breast cancer and was so disappointed to have cancer as it prevented her from being an organ donor. She found a way around that, however, and willed her body to MSU for research purposes and would be so pleased to know they accepted her. Giving of herself to the very end. Maria was a good person who cared deeply for her family, friends, and the natural world. She lived life well and fully and will be dearly missed, but love leaves behind more than death can take away and she's left us so very much. Many heartfelt thanks to Harbor Hospice for their compassionate care, to her private caregivers for sharing their lives and love with her, and to the staff at White Lake who became loving friends in just the last two years. If inclined to give a memorial gift, one to the Land Conservancy of West Michigan would be appreciated. There will be no organized memorial service. Please take a walk in the woods and reflect on how Maria touched your life. We'll see you "in just a little minute" Maria, and until then we'll try to follow your example and "Carpe Diem!"
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