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Obituary for Mary Anne Moss, 86 

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–Mary Anne Moss, age 86, died peacefully on Sunday July 14th 2019, in British Columbia, Canada. Born in Atascadero, California, the first child born to Erich Paul and Mary Monica Leahy Schwandt, Mary Anne was predeceased by her youngest sister Inga Claire Himes and brother Erich Paul Schwandt and is survived by younger siblings James William Schwandt and Martha Jeanne Chase, as well as her children Martha Johanna (Mattie) Bosch, Walter James (Jaime) Moss, Anne Leahy Moss, Michael Edward Moss and John Henry Moss, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Mary Anne grew up in Paso Robles, raised in a home filled with music, laughter and a door that was always open to family and friends. Her father was Paso’s Fire Chief, before opening his grocery store, Erich’s Market, on Spring Street. The family was known for their musical talent and love of nature. Mary Anne and her siblings sang in the choir and at weddings, and they gardened, hiked, swam, camped and hunted together regularly. They were also creative pranksters who took joy in the funny and absurd; their pranks were often theatrical and elaborate, but never cruel.

Mary Anne graduated from Paso High, then went on to study Anthropology at the University of Mexico, Mexico City. She traveled throughout Mexico during her time there. Mary Anne married Jack Moss in 1954. They lived in the Monterey Bay area and then moved to Atascadero.

Mary Anne’s time was devoted mainly to raising her five children, but as in her own childhood, the door was always open and the coffee was always on. More often than not there would be additional friends and family at the table. She was always prepared and cooked as if for an army. She was active in the PTA and volunteered at school as well as serving as librarian. Highly musical and a gifted lyricist, Mary Anne gave her children the gift of music. Her talent produced a regular stream of songs and even a few jingles for local businesses. She also collaborated with her musicologist brother Eric to compose and arrange songs for the Kingston Trio and Dave Guard’s Whiskyhill Singers.

The Mosses moved to Read Island, British Columbia, Canada in 1972, together with the Gillmore family. Although it was a dramatic change of pace, Mary Anne’s off-grid skills had been honed in childhood and she took to island life like a duck to water. The island remained her home for the remainder of her life. Read was her community and family and she loved all the island’s kids as if they were her own. Many of them have described her as their “other mother” and matriarch of the closely knit community. When the Read Island School was reopened, Mary Anne was a consistent presence. She donated logs and lumber and helped build the community gymnasium and “bunkhouse” where kids from neighboring islands would stay for the school week, to spare them the sometimes hazardous commute by boat. She continued to compose music and in 1974, with Ian Hay, she wrote Stomptown Follies, a lighthearted musical production based on island life.

An outspoken environmental and anti-war activist, Mary Anne composed political and protest music, volunteered for Cesar Chavez doing farm worker interviews, sheltered women escaping abusive relationships, counseled young men on how to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War and was arrested for protesting destructive logging practices in sensitive environmental areas. She was an active and powerful part of every community she called home throughout her life.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mary Anne can be made to:

Surge Narrows Community Association: SNCA
Surge Narrows, BC
Canada, V0P 1W0

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The news staff of the Paso Robles Daily News wrote or edited this story from local contributors and press releases. The news staff can be reached at info@pasoroblesdailynews.com.