Mary Ann was born on April 1, 1927, in Schwarzach, Austria, the daughter of Joseph and Irene (Stadelmann) Grabher. She overcame a number of childhood illnesses – Scarlet and Rheumatic fever, Diphtheria, and Polio. Her friends and family shared her childhood dread of each coming winter and what illness it might bring. Twice before her teen years she was offered the Last Rites. She refused the first out of the fear that receiving the sacrament obligated her to die; the second she accepted when she was old enough to know the meaning of the ritual. Her teen years, from age 12 to 18, were dominated by the runaway inflation of the Great Depression and World War II. In her later years, she attributed her longevity and toughness to having overcome these challenges of her youth.
After the war she worked for the local postal service and as a switchboard operator for the telephone company. She met the man who became her husband, Oskar Mueller, from the nearby town of Bregenz, Austria. They married in Innsbruck in 1952, and lived for three more years in Schwarzach before moving to the U.S. and settling in Ann Arbor, in 1955. She and Oskar had two children, Terry Mueller (Terrance Sullivan), of Ottawa, Ontario, and Michael (Barbara) Mueller, of Ann Arbor. In addition to her role as housewife, she devoted all her time to her children until they were old enough to attend Junior High. She then worked as head cashier at Kiddie Land on Main Street from 1972 until 1992. Her proficiency, dedication, and love of working for the public earned her the respect of her bosses, co-workers, neighboring retailers, and countless customers. When Kiddie Land closed in 1992 she was immediately offered and accepted the job of sales rep by Kline’s department store, where she worked for three more years until that store also closed. She received more job offers from Mast Shoes and Ann Arbor clothing, but joking that having closed two downtown stores was enough, decided to take a well-earned retirement. Her husband having preceded her in death due to Alzheimer’s in 1992, she indulged her taste for adventure by taking several trips with senior groups to Mexico, Alaska, and the Grand Canyon, as well as several personal trips back to Austria to visit her three brothers and their families.
Mary Ann was an extremely sociable person, who loved to chat with strangers as well as family members and friends. She was an avid reader, mostly fiction, up till the time of her death. She also found joy in the arts, enjoying the work of impressionists like Monet, and had a love for film and music, especially opera. She also loved animals, with a special fondness for cats and dogs, and compensated for her logistical and physical inability to care for a pet herself by contributing to one of her two favorite charities, the Humane Society. The other, of course, was the Alzheimer’s Association.
Mary Ann was also preceded in death by both parents, as well as her older brother, Kurt Grabher, and youngest brother, Gunther Grabher. Her other younger brother, Fritz Grabher, still resides in Bern, Switzerland, with his wife, Ursula. In addition to her children, Mary Ann is also survived by her grandson, her “main man,” Zachary Sullivan, and his fiancé, Samantha Sloan, of Boston, Massachusetts.
In her later years she again faced a number of life-threatening illnesses, including two heart surgeries, colon cancer, and a broken hip. Two lengthy stays in Glacier Hills rehab convinced her and her children that she could never travel again, but with the help of wonderful people from Senior Helpers and Arbor Hospice, her children were able to keep her in the home she loved and lived in for nearly seventy years. Her family would especially like to thank three incredible women from Senior Helpers: Jeannette Figurel, her latest best buddy; Sandrine Beaton, the angel at her side when the time came; and Hope Kellerman, who became her adopted granddaughter.
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