Mariana H. Stapleton

Mariana, loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend to all passed away peacefully surrounded by her adoring family who meant the world to her. She was born in Spokane, WA to Philip and Marie Holgren.  She had many fond memories of her childhood, especially going to their lake cottage every summer proudly built by her father, and skating on the ice and sledding in the winter.  She attended Holy Names Academy where she made many friends, including some of the nuns that she stayed in contact with throughout her life.

After graduating from Holy Names College, she made the journey from Spokane to Los Angeles with her friends and future roommates. She finished her studies at the County Hospital of Los Angeles where she lived in the Cottages and made lifelong friends and memories that she would fondly recall.

She met her husband, Thomas Stapleton at a Catholic Alumni Dance in Palm Springs in 1957.  She was a loving and dedicated wife to Tom for 51 years until his passing in 2009, and they raised 4 children together. They moved throughout California due to Tom’s engineering projects before settling down to their home in Fullerton where she lived for almost 60 years.  Mariana was very involved in her community including, AAUW, PTA, Girl Scouts, NCL, as well as being an active member of her parish community of St. Juliana Falconieri Church in Fullerton. There she volunteered on countless committees and activities over the years including alter care, Eucharistic minister, bereavement committee, St. Vincent De Paul food pantry, Get on The Bus, Fall Festival, and many more. She was an active volunteer in her children’s schools; Golden Hill Elementary, St. Juliana, Servite and Rosary High School. Her favorite volunteer activities were Meals on Wheels and driving for F.I.S.H. She was passionate about her faith and was a living example of the Prayer of St. Francis. She always went out of her way to help someone in need, especially the most vulnerable in society.

As her children got older, she continued to volunteer, but went back to her beloved profession of being a laboratory technician at Fullerton Internal Medicine where she enjoyed the wonderful camaraderie of the staff and made many lifelong friends.

Some of her favorite joys in life were her daily walks with her sweet dog Mia, tending her garden, playing the piano and baking, especially at the holidays.  One of her biggest passions was reading and she was a regular at the Fullerton Public Library, especially the Friends of the Library Sale. She was also a loving and doting mother to her kids and grandma to her grandkids and was an enthusiastic supporter of all their activities, sporting events, and recitals.

If there was one word to describe Mariana it was sweet. She was so kind to everyone she encountered, whether they were lifelong friends or someone she just met, she had a kind word for everyone and a gift for making them smile.

She is survived by her children who miss her terribly but are at peace with the knowledge she is with the Lord; Kathleen Duncan (Randy), Margaret Lewis (Andrew), and Paul Stapleton (Noot) and brother, John Holgren as well as her grandchildren who lovingly called her G-Ma. She is preceded in death by her parents, her sister Carol Holgren, her husband Tom, and her sons Joseph (Terry) and John.

A Rosary will be held at McAulay and Wallace in Fullerton at 7:00 pm on June 30 and a funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am on July 1 at St. Juliana Falconieri Church in Fullerton. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Juliana Falconieri Church, or Pathways of Hope.