Mary Ann (Smith) Sanguinetti, age 69, of Houston, Texas passed away on Friday, February 16, 2024. She is survived by her husband, Christopher Sanguinetti, daughter, Lauren Santerre, son-in-law Randy Saad, granddaughter, Vivian Saad, brother Gene Smith, and wife Jimi Diann Smith. She is also survived by numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. Mary Ann was born on November 19, 1954, at St. Joseph’s hospital to Douglas and Ruby Lee (Martin) Smith. Her great grandparents were A.J. and Emma (Owens) Martin and Earl and Alma (Bagwell) Smith. Her grandmother Emma Martin moved from Louisiana to the Alief area near the turn of the 20th century. Emma was the spiritual matriarch of the family and instilled in Mary Ann’s mother, Ruby, a strong faith, and love of God. Mary Ann was reared in a Christian home and attended the Alief Community Church during her childhood. Her faith was an essential and fundamental part of her identity. In her early life and teenage years her friends and family called her “Tooger,” a nickname that stuck with her for most of her life. Her father, Douglas Smith, was from a farming family and was a strong, but quiet Christian. Her family was an integral part of their church, and it held a special place in Mary Ann’s heart.
In, 1953, her father, Douglas, was able to purchase his first cotton gin in Alief, Tx. The area at the time was farmland and Mary Ann grew up with an intimate knowledge of cows and cotton. In her earliest years when her daddy was ginning cotton, she, along with her brothers and sometimes cousins, would be put to bed in a trailer load of cotton under the stars when the cotton gin ran late into the night, to be retrieved again when the family would head home, sometimes near midnight. Douglas owned many cows and Mary Ann, as well as her brothers, often became adoptive parents to the calves. She once had a calf she named “Sneeker” because, the calf was born on New Year’s Eve and “snuck in before the new year.” She enjoyed caring for Sneeker, but eventually lost interest as the calf grew up into a young cow. Then one night at the dinner table she inquired about the welfare of good ole Sneeker. Her daddy with a kind of a sheepish smile said, “Well…you’re looking at him on the end of that fork.” Mary Ann almost passed out.
Mary Ann grew up in the close-knit community of Alief. She walked to school every day, and often would walk home for a homemade lunch. She enjoyed “trips” into the city (Houston) with her mother on the train for shopping and other outings. She spent many hours at her Aunt Dorothy and Aunt Lurline’s (Nernie) homes. These women, like Ruby, were also women of great faith and love. Aunt Nernie was an amazing cook, and Mary Ann spent her summers playing with her cousin Randy and enjoying peanut blossom and chocolate mound cookies, and Nernie’s delicious chocolate cake with fudge icing. Aunt Dorothy was the only one of the Martin children to earn a college degree, later teaching home economics at the local high school. Aunt Dorothy was also the queen of birthday parties and loved a good “theme party.” There is no doubt that Mary Ann learned many of her hostess skills from both her Aunt Dorothy and her mother Ruby. In addition, Mary Ann had an example of an educated woman who could earn her own money in Aunt Dorothy. A value that she believed was so very important and instilled in her own daughter Lauren. Mary Ann was a champion of a “good education,” and professed that it was deeply important for one’s character and ability to earn a good living.
In her high school years, Mary Ann perfected her basketball skills along with her academic achievements. She practiced endlessly on the outdoor goal at her home, as well as at the school gym. She became an excellent outside shooter and lettered in Junior High and High School. She gloried in the fact that she could play and beat her older brother, Gene, in games of “around the world.” Sadly, during high school, she tore a ligament in her knee and was sidelined for most of her junior and senior years. She never lost her love of the game, however, and even in her later life would watch college basketball games and “coach” the players on tv. She also instilled a love of basketball in her daughter, and they spent many days shooting baskets at their home in West Houston.
With her deep love of education and desire to become a teacher, Mary Ann left for college at Oral Robert’s University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and later transferred to Houston Baptist University to become a dean’s list English graduate. After graduating, she taught school in several public and private schools including St. Agnes Academy, Hempstead Elementary and Intermediate School, River Oaks Baptist School, The Village School, and Cinco Ranch High School. During her time at River Oaks Baptist, she earned her master’s degree from Oxford University in England. She spent five summers diligently working to attain that degree. She was often at the forefront of new teaching methods and was always an early adopter of new technology for the classroom. She also loved a good bulletin board, but she was not particularly crafty, so her long-time friend Bobbie and her daughter Lauren were usually tasked with designing and installing said bulletin boards. Mary Ann received multiple awards for teaching during her career. Due to her health issues, she was forced to retire early from teaching. She was deeply saddened by her inability to continue teaching as she loved her profession and her students. Although she was no longer in the classroom in her later years, she made it a point to continue teaching her granddaughter Vivian every time she came for a visit. One of her best lessons was helping Vivian learn the definition of “expensive.” She would look at Vivian and say, “Now, what does expensive mean?” Vivian would look at her, smile, and say “costs a lot of money.” She was an amazing and gifted teacher. So many of her students remember her passion, devotion, and most of all, her love for them as human beings. She truly lived out her vocation and calling in her career.
According to Mary Ann, however, her greatest achievement was her daughter, Lauren. When she was pregnant, she was certain that she was going to have a boy and would name him David. She was convinced that her son would be a preacher, even before she met him. To her surprise, she had a little girl and decided to name her Lauren because she was reading Lauren Bacall’s biography at the time of her birth. She would tell anyone who wanted to listen, that the day Lauren was born she dedicated her to the Lord and promised that she would grow up with a strong faith and life devoted to serving Him. Her promise came true, and Lauren has loved God since she was born. Mary’s daughter was active in the Methodist church growing up, studied religion in college, and later attained two seminary degrees. Lauren has served in many roles in her career, but perhaps the one Mary was most proud of was her time as a Hospice Chaplain. Mary believed her daughter was called by God to minister to others. Her faith guided and informed Lauren’s life in deeply profound ways. She was a devoted mom and often told her daughter, “It’s you and me against the world, girl.”
Mary is survived by her husband Christopher Sanguinetti whom she met at Ashford United Methodist Church. She and Chris were able to have many good years together enjoying movies, plays, road trips, and time at their beautiful lake house in Crockett, TX before she became severely ill. Christopher was a devoted caretaker of Mary for many years. Mary was previously married to her high school sweetheart, Ricky Santerre (Lauren’s father) for nine years.
Mary Ann had many friends who loved her deeply. She was always a talker and loved getting to know people. She tended to collect them, and she made friends wherever she went. Some of her long-time friends were Judy Bitner, Donna Soule, Donna Montgomery Banning, Charlene Watson, Bobbie Oldfield, Diana Martin, Susan Laster, Linda Taylor, Karen Blankenship, Carol George, Judy Adams, Linda Carswell, and Linda Bundy. Mary Ann knew the stories of all these people and loved to be a witness to the lives of others. She had a remarkable memory and would learn everything she could about those around her. Even when she became very ill and was hospitalized several times, she would know the details of her doctors, nurses, and caregiver’s lives. She was a “favorite” at the rehab at Methodist Hospital, and everyone on staff would stop into her room to visit and check on her. Mary never met a stranger and had an amazing ability to get others to share about their lives. It was nearly impossible to keep a secret from her, she always found a way to ask you just the right question.
Mary Ann was a force of nature. She always walked, talked, and drove very fast. When she turned sixteen her daddy took her to the Chevrolet dealership and told her she could have any car on the lot as long as it was red. She chose a 1972 Chevy Chevelle. According to her brother Gene, she could make it from in Alief to Houston Baptist University in fifteen minutes and when she left the house you could see only a cloud of dust and a faint red glow of taillights, and then her daddy would say, “good Lord girl.” She loved to be on the move and those closest to her often struggled to keep up with her boundless energy.
She loved musicals, especially Phantom of the Opera. She enjoyed traveling and seeing the world, especially New York City. She was, of course, an avid reader and read hundreds, if not thousands, of books in her life. She believed in prayer and reading scripture regularly. She faithfully attended church services until she could no longer physically attend. She adored antiques and even owned an antique store with her friend Bobbie during her years living in Hempstead, Texas. There were many days spent at antique shows and malls to find treasures. Mary was also the ultimate hostess. She threw parties for every occasion and holiday with beautiful tables and themed decorations. Anyone who did not have family or somewhere to go for a holiday was always welcome in her home. She was a decorator and was constantly reconfiguring furniture and wall hangings in all her houses, until the very end. Her favorite theme for most of her life was Americana – she had quite the collection of red, white, and blue décor. She was also the queen of Christmas trees – often having a tree in every room of her house. Mary loved to go to the beach and sit on the balcony and listen to the waves. She was an avid swimmer and really enjoyed her pool at her Katy home for many years. Some of her favorite foods were pot roast, hamburgers, filet mignon, chicken salad, pizza, Ruby’s coconut pie, anything chocolate, French vanilla cake from the Dessert Gallery, fudge, and chocolate chip cookies. She enjoyed cooking and loved making homemade meals for friends and family. She had a few beloved Yorkie’s, but the most special was her first one, Sampson, that Lauren and Bobbie brought home from the Farmer’s market. Mary Ann loved so many things in this life. She truly lived with gusto, and she had an ability to light up a room. Her energy, her deep curiosity, her ability to “talk to a stick,” and her smile will be deeply missed.
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5