Mary Beth Middleton

Mary moved to Redding as a baby, where she lived out the rest of her life. She graduated from Enterprise HS in 1972 after which she started working. In 1974, she took a night class in tennis where she met her future husband, Jim Middleton, who was the class teacher and tennis coach. They married in 1975, a marriage that lasted 46 years.

Mary went on to attend Shasta College and, while there, she became a great tennis player on Jim’s team. Mary and her doubles partner, Evie McFadden Spring, won the Small College State Doubles Championship in 1978, which helped clinch the Small College State Team Championship. She was later entered into the Shasta College Hall of Fame.

Mary enjoyed working the front desk at Redding Physical Therapy for 28 years, where she worked with a wonderful group of colleagues, many of whom became life-long friends.

In the early 80’s Mary began a life-long struggle with numerous serious health issues, culminating in a heart transplant in November of 2017 and most recently, a battle with squamous cell skin cancer. In spite of all she had to endure, she continually remained positive and concerned for others and her can-do-it attitude was an inspiration for those around her. She and Jim made a wonderful team, supporting each other with whatever came their way. Mary never gave up and Jim continued to encourage her.

In the early 90’s, health issues caused Mary to shift from playing tennis to playing golf, which she wholeheartedly embraced. She became very involved with the Tierra Oaks Women’s Golf Club where she made many special friends and loved playing with the women. She was one of the co-founders of the Tierra Oaks “Fun Friday” women golfers. She also participated in the annual Reno trip of Pepper Golfers, starting out by winning “Rookie of the Year.” In addition, she and Jim took many golf trips with friends and family.

Mary is survived by her loving husband, Jim, of 47 years and her Yorkie, Lizzie, who provided constant comfort over the past 7 years; her sister, Carol Dutton Stepik (Alex); brother, Bob Dutton; brothers-in-law, Bruce Middleton (Joyce), Rob Middleton (Paula); sisters-in-law, Marian Chandler (John), Connie Chrysler-Anderson (Ed); and many much-loved nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at Stanford Medical Center who treated both Mary and Jim with kindness, compassion, and expert medical care, going above and beyond time after time. Jim would also like to thank family and friends for their continued loving support.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a charity of your choice. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date when all can gather safely.