Obituary

Mary Jean Middleton, 75, was born August 2, 1933 in Marshall, MN and passed away at home July 5, 2009 in Laguna Woods, CA. At age three, Mary traveled with her parents, Frank, Sr. and Dorothy, to the jungles of French Equatorial Africa, now French Cameroon, where Frank, Sr. was employed as a mining engineer for a French mining company. In 1939, the family traveled to California and took up residence on a farm in the city of Escalon. Mary attended Escalon High School, graduating in 1951. She went on to earn her Bachelors Degree at Cal Berkeley and her Masters Degree from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Mary taught school all over the world, starting with the Stockton Unified School District, before traveling to Europe and Thailand to teach the children of military families. Mary ended her career in education as a Librarian in Costa Mesa, CA. Mary was a world traveler with several trips to Europe and Asia, seven trips to Africa and one to Antarctica.

Mary is survived by her brother, Frank Jane Middleton; sister, Martha Jim Edeal and three nieces and four nephews.

A Memorial Service will be Friday, July 10, 2009 at 10:00am at O’Connor Mortuary, 25301 Alicia Pkwy, Laguna Hills, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mary’s name to Heartland Hospice, 725 W. Town & Country Rd., Suite 130, Orange, CA 92868 and to the Bonnie Jean Thompson Scholarship Fund at the University of the Pacific, 3601 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95211.

O’Connor Mortuary, 949 581-4300
www.oconnormortuary.com