MITCHELL CO FUNERAL HOME
http://www.mitchellcofuneralhome.com
Mary Beth Manning, 74, died April 20 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, her daughter, Kate, by her side, after a long battle against chronic lung disease.
Born August 23, 1945, to Paul and Margaret (Boyd) Bowers, Mary Beth grew up in Cortland, Ohio, with the exception of a year spent on U.S. Naval Base Guam, where her father was stationed and where she attended first grade. She played the flute in her high school band, and went on to attend The College of Wooster and Case Western Reserve, receiving a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1968. That same year she married Charles R. Manning, whom she had met in band, and the couple set up residence in Lawrence, Kansas, for a year before setting off for the California Bay Area in 1969. Their daughter was born in 1974, and they divorced in 1977.
Mary Beth was so impressed by her delivery experience at Stanford Hospital that she returned to work there as a labor and delivery nurse for nearly 20 years. She eventually earned a master's degree in health services administration in 1988, but much preferred hands-on nursing to management. After leaving Stanford in 1993, Mary Beth continued working as an RN at Planned Parenthood in Watsonville, California, until she moved to the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts in 2002 to be closer to her daughter. She was employed as a nurse at the Holyoke Health Center until her retirement in 2010.
Mary Beth loved animals, reading, the outdoors, travel, and good food (cooked by others). She was an avid birder, camper, hiker, and cross-country skier, and ran the San Francisco Bay to Breakers race in 1981. When she moved to Watsonville, she took up kayaking, a hobby she continued to enjoy in Massachusetts. She camped all over the western U.S., sailed in the Greek islands, took a cooking course in Tuscany, and explored Prague, Barcelona, and Croatia. Over the years, she made friends in every workplace and activity in which she participated. Mary Beth was thoughtful, generous, optimistic, independent, determined, naturally curious, and quick to laugh. She cherished her family and her pets-a lifetime menagerie that included a childhood lamb, a pair of goats, and a miniature donkey in addition to a series of very spoiled cats. She was an indefatigable fighter who successfully overcame two bouts of lymphoma and never gave up in the face of increasing health challenges. In the last year of her life, she traveled to visit family in Missouri and her daughter in Italy. She leaves a void behind that will never be filled, but everyone who was fortunate enough to spend time with her is the better for it.
Mary Beth is survived by her daughter, Katherine Manning of Varenna, Italy, her brother, Bennett (Rainy) Bowers of Cortland, Ohio, and her brother-in-law, Rick Rose, also of Cortland. She leaves her nephew, Stephen (Laura) Rose, her nieces, Wendy (Travis) Forbes, Kristen (Matt) Parise, Jamie (Laura) Bowers, and Jill Bowers, and her longtime friend Phyllis Ritter. She was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved sister, Janet Rose.
In lieu of an in-person memorial, remembrances and media may be shared at www.MaryBethMemorial.com. Anyone wishing to make donations in Mary Beth's name is encouraged to do so at Dakin Human Society, Easthampton City Arts, or the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
LINKS
Daily Hampshire Gazette
http://www.gazettenet.com
Memories
Gallery
Guestbook