Mary Annis Arris

Mary Annis Arris passed into Spirit, aged 94, on June 6, 2025 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado after a long and fulfilling life. Born April 18, 1931, in Norwalk, Connecticut, Mary was the oldest child of Elliott and Elizabeth (Gilman) Roberts. Growing up in Westport, Connecticut, she was joined within a few years by a sister, Ruth Esther, and a brother, Larry. Mary was an avid reader, and as a child during the depression collected dozens of books, including all 40 of the Wizard of Oz books, by writing the publisher for “seconds” because they were affordable. She attended Staples High School and was valedictorian of her 1948 graduating class. She then attended Cornell University (Ithaca, New York), where she was a member of the Chi Omega sorority. She included ornithology in her studies, and one of her treasured memories of her time at Cornell was meeting the renowned naturalist, Roger Tory Peterson. She was awarded a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics with distinction in January 1952, and followed this with a teaching certificate from Adelphi College in New York in the spring of 1952.

An adventurous woman even then, Mary took a job on the other side of the country teaching kindergarten in Coronado, California, where she met her future husband, Wayne Frank Arris. After a year in California, Mary and Wayne drove back across the country and were married in Westport on July 3, 1954. They lived in Massachusetts for a few years, where she taught school and Wayne attended university. But Mary had become enamored with Colorado, where her aunt lived, and in late 1959 Mary and Wayne moved to Colorado and started a family, which grew to include Lelani and Mindi. They bought land in the foothills near Bergen Park and built a house with a view of the Continental Divide where Mary lived until 1986.

Mary stepped away from teaching for a few years to raise her girls but found time to complete a Master of Arts in Guidance Counselling at the University of Colorado in 1965. Mary and Wayne divorced in 1972, and Mary returned to teaching; first with home-bound students in the mountain areas of Jefferson County while she again returned to school, this time receiving a Master of Arts degree in Special Education from the University of Northern Colorado in 1975. She taught at various Denver area schools, and finished her career teaching special education at Morey Junior High in inner city Denver, retiring from this extremely challenging position in June 1992. Along the way she also completed a third Master of Arts degree in 1988, this time in Applied Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.

After her divorce, most of the responsibility of raising her daughters fell on Mary, and she rose to the occasion with her adventurous spirit, touring and camping with them all over the southwest and going on multi-day backpacking trips in the Colorado mountains that were the source of many stories and memories. She was the epitome of the strong, independent woman and served as an amazing role model for her daughters. Like her father and grandfather before her, Mary was a passionate and prolific photographer who documented her family’s lives and the world around her, leaving a treasure trove of memories. She loved all kinds of music, especially symphonies and musicals, and passed the time on long road trips singing with her kids. She was an avid birder and nature watcher and recorded many of her observations.

Mary was always seeking something more from life, and in 1977 she found a lifelong spiritual home with the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA). She made many lifelong friends through MSIA, was ordained as a minister in 1982, and spent the rest of her life practicing spiritual principles and spreading love and light to those around her. She had the opportunity to travel to Egypt in 1990 with MSIA, and her adventures continued with a cruise to Alaska in 1993, where her ship hit a rock in Glacier Bay and everyone had to be rescued!

In 1993, Mary welcomed two step-granddaughters, Nikki and Veronica, into her life. A few years later, in 1997, her granddaughter Rebecca was born, and she made several visits to remote British Columbia, Canada where Lelani lived to help out with the new baby. She loved the Canadian Rockies, where, she said, she could still smell the pine trees. In 2000, Mindi, who stayed in Colorado, gave her another granddaughter, Alina, who brought even more joy to her life. While the granddaughters were growing up, the family would rent a house somewhere in Colorado each summer and all the (mostly) women and girls would gather from around the continent to reconnect, creating more stories and memories each time. And even when they were far away and she could no longer travel, Mary made sure to stay connected with the lives of both of her granddaughters.

Mary lived for several years on Lookout Mountain, several more years at Bergen Village, and moved to MorningStar of Wheat Ridge in 2016. While her body aged, Mary’s mind remained sharp and full of love and humor to the end. She made many good friends at MorningStar, sharing her stories and her love with everyone who knew her, and she will be sorely missed.

Mary was preceded in death by her brother, Lawrence Roberts. She is survived by her sister, Ruth Esther Bennett; her daughters, Lelani (David) Arris and Aminda (Rory) Ramig; granddaughters, Nicole Lund, Veronica (Trevor) Kelson, Rebecca (Trevor) Bizicki and Alina (Cameron) Podd; and three great-grandchildren. Mary’s memory will be lovingly carried on by her family, who were the heart of her life. Her family is profoundly grateful to the staff of MorningStar of Wheat Ridge and Bloom Hospice for the loving and professional care she received from everyone there.

A memorial service will be held in September. Donations in Mary’s name can be made to Mount Evans Hospice (Evergreen) or the Birds of Prey Foundation (Broomfield).