Mary Pepmeier's Obituary
Obituary for Mary Augustina Pepmeier
Mary Augustina Fletcher Pepmeier née Bouchard was born in the Lawrence Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, March 27, 1923. Her parents were Augustin Bouchard and Ada Riggs Bouchard.
Her mother and father divorced when Mary was 3. Her mother remarried Walter Raymond Earp, December 30, 1926. To this union four half-siblings were born; the late Walter Raymond, Jr., the late Mildred “Millie” Estelle (Walter Paquin), the late LeRoy Don, and Wyatt Edward. The 1940 census records her living in San Diego, CA. She graduated from Herbert Hoover High in San Diego. She didn’t talk about it much, but she had to work from a very young age. She described herself as a “servant”, at the age of 17, to John and Margaret Cotton. They were a very prominent, second generation, real estate family in San Diego. When Margaret died, Mary sent us the obituary, reminding us of that difficult time in her life.
She married James Turner “JT” Fletcher in 1944. To this union, two sons were born: Dwight Clifton, and James Turner, III (Colleen). As a young mother she attended the Presbyterian Church and her son, Jim, always told her she was the best mom, who always took such good care of everyone notwithstanding making the best cookies.
In 1963, she completed a course in nursing at Grossmont Adult School and started her career as a Licensed Vocational Nurse. That same year she, JT and Jim moved to Las Vegas. Dwight had graduated from high school and decided to remain in San Diego. Mary worked at Women’s Hospital in Las Vegas in the maternity ward’s nursery. She and JT divorced in 1968.
Mary returned to San Diego in 1970 and began the next chapter of her life and career working at Grossmont Hospital in their Central Supply department. She joined a hospital bowling league with coworkers and one night, her team member, Patti Pepmeier invited her dad to come and watch. The rest, as they say, is history.
Mary and Gerald Walter (Jerry) Pepmeier were married May 14, 1973 and Mary, after raising two sons, finally, had a daughter, Patti (Gary Kroll). She retired from nursing once her husband Jerry died, in 1985.
Mary and Jerry were married in the Unity Church. This was Mary’s new spiritual home and she enjoyed learning about this philosophy of spiritual living, meditation and prayer. It was something she studied and maintained the rest of her life. She was an avid reader of spiritual and self-help books. Mary and Jerry took two fabulous trips together. They went to Japan in 1974 and also to the Summer Olympics in Montreal in 1976.
After Jerry died, Mary did a lot of volunteer work as well as pursuing her spiritual path. She took classes from her favorite spiritual teaching. She read to children in an after-school program at her local library. She consistently baked goodies and offered them to neighbors, friends and her own doctors, where she volunteered keeping their office waiting room neat and well stocked with magazines and medical brochures. She made many trips to Las Vegas, in her car, all by herself, and enjoyed her grandchildren and swimming in Jim and Colleen’s pool. Their home was a family gathering place and one of Colleen’s fondest memories of Mary is her great laugh when all of the family gathered and the conversations turned into hilarity.
Patti said that she and Gary enjoyed spending time with Mary in her kitchen, visiting, listening to her stories and having her try out new recipes for dinner and desserts! Her kitchen was always a warm place of love!
She lived independently into her 90’s.
Mary passed away, peacefully, in the company of her hospice nurse, Normita, and caregivers, Marcie and Corey, at Angel Genesis Care Home in Spring Valley, California on Monday, January 6, 2025.
Mary’s family and friends loved her and appreciated her for who she was, kind-hearted, loving, self-less and generous. Each one gave her a little part of themselves, and in turn she has left a little bit of herself with each one who knew her.
She will be missed and she will be remembered always, with a smile.
She leaves behind those who will remember her with great love and appreciation, sons Dwight and Jim (Colleen), daughter Patti (Gary) 6 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren and her dear friends.
Services are pending with Greenwood Mortuary.
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