Anne Pederson Mariner, 82, passed away November 2. Her husband, Jim, and her daughter, Sarah were at her bedside. The daughter of Perley and Dorothy Pederson, Anne was born on her parents’ farm near Idana, Kansas in March of 1937. She graduated from Clay County Community High School in 1955. She earned a B.S. degree from Kansas State University in 1959, and an M.S. from the University of Colorado in 1981.
Growing up on the family farm, she was active in 4H, receiving numerous awards for projects in several categories. An excellent student, Anne was elected to the National Honor Society, and played in the school’s elite Stardusters Band. At KSU, she pledged Delta Delta Delta and was elected to Mortar Board, a national honor society recognizing college seniors for exemplary scholarship, leadership, and service.
Anne married James Mariner in the summer of 1959 and began a teaching career at West Junior High School in Kansas City, Kansas that fall. In 1962, she and her husband joined the newly-formed Peace Corps and were assigned to teach biology at St. Augustine’s College in Ghana, West Africa. Returning home, Anne turned her attention to raising three children for the next 15 years. During that time, she enrolled in library science courses at Emporia State University while her husband completed his Master’s Degree. Arriving at the Fountain Valley School of Colorado in the fall of 1968, Anne joined the staff as an assistant in the school’s library and also taught biology and chemistry.
Anne excelled as a Mom, Grandmother, teacher, advisor and mentor, as well as being a role model for women in science. Her patience, kindness, generosity, and calm spirit were unsurpassed and many of her students adopted her as their away-from-home Mom. She understood where kids were coming from and met them there with honesty, integrity, and empathy
Anne and Jim loved to travel. During their marriage of 60 years, they visited 17 countries and traveled over much of the United States, often camping along the way. Anne played the piano and flute, loved to read, and enjoyed playing Sudoku. With a cousin, she became interested in genealogy. Together, they assembled a five-generation history of her mother’s Harzbecker ancestry, even traveling to Germany and Austria to seek out those roots.
Anne is survived by her husband, Jim Mariner; her three children: Paul, Sarah, and Peter Mariner; her brother, Jim Pederson; and her sister, Jane Pederson Moore. She also leaves six grandchildren: Blaise, Emma Lia, and Eliza Mariner; Hannah and Samantha Pratt; and Juliana Sucharov-Costa.
A Celebration of Life will be held November 26th at Fountain Creek Nature Center in Fountain, Colorado at 1:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made in Anne’s honor to Friends of El Paso County Nature Centers (245 Bear Creek Rd., Colorado Springs, CO, 80906) and/or Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care (2550 Tenderfoot Hill St., Colorado Springs, CO, 80906).
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Dove-Witt.com for the Mariner family.
