Mary Ann Maserang

Mary Ann was born on December 6, 1946 in Belleville, Illinois, the daughter of the late Kermit and Ruth (nee Adams) Christmann. She was raised in Belleville where she was active in the Girls Scouts and the Kappa Delta Nu sorority. She attended Belleville Township High School where she was on the Honor Roll and participated in Student Service, Theater and Chorus organizations before graduating in 1964 .

In 1965, she married Douglas A. Bridges and they had two daughters together, Michelle Marie and Stacy Ruth Bridges. The couple divorced in 1969 and Mary Ann was awarded sole custody of the two girls.

She went on to attend college as a single mother all while earning membership in the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, serving as chairwoman of the Student Nurses’ Association and doing volunteer work as a clinical associate of the St Clair County Mental Health Association. She also worked at her parent’s business, Kermie’s Tavern in Belleville throughout her college years. She earned an Associate Degree in Nursing graduating from Belleville Area College in 1972.

She met James Francis Maserang when both were in the Belleville Drum and Bugle Corps and they married on July 29, 1972. Together they raised five children during a busy life of Marine Corps transfers back and forth across the country. She worked as a nurse in various hospitals, government facilities and for Hospice throughout her working life, retiring from the St Clair County Health Department in 2011.

Mary Ann had a very generous heart and she dearly loved people and pets. Her home was always open to stray animals, people needing help or a place to crash, family and friends. She was a genuinely kind, selfless and caring soul who sacrificed much for her children!

Mary Ann was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Jim Maserang; her son, Timothy James Maserang; her father, Kermit Christmann; her mother, Ruth Christmann; her father-in-law. Vincent Maserang; her mother-in-law, Beverley Maserang; her step-mother-in-law, Ann Maserang; and a brother-in-law, David Maserang.

Surviving are her children: Michelle (Damian) Sandheinrich of Hopkinsville, KY; Stacy (Matt) Eschman of Belleville, IL; Jeff (Kim) Maserang of Webster Groves, MO and Carrie (Jeff) Campbell of Belleville, IL; seven grandchildren: Elizabeth (Nick) Szabo of St Neots, UK; Bryan Munro (Leslee Hamby) of Cape Girardeau, MO; Sarah (Colton) Butler of Belleville, IL; Alexis (Cody) Clark of Pekin, IL; Christian Sandheinrich of Hopkinsville, KY; and Landon and Jonah Maserang of Webster Groves, MO; three great-grandchildren: Aiden Clark; Tristan Szabo; and Lucas Szabo; and a brother: Kermit “Rusty” (Nancy) Christmann of Waterloo, IL.

In lieu of flowers, friends wishing to make a charitable contribution on Mary Ann’s behalf may support the Belleville Area Humane Society (https://bahspets.org).

Visitation: Friends may call at Lake View Funeral Home at 5000 North Illinois Street in Fairview Heights, IL on Sunday, January 18th from 1000-1200 followed by an indoor Memorial Service from 1200-1230.