Maria Cristina Javiera Mooney, born August 8, 1991 in La Union, Chile, left this life, unexpectedly, Saturday morning, September 17, 2022. She is survived by her mother, Sheila, her older sister, Angelica/Ace, and her brother-in-law Ben. Her Dad, John, died 3 weeks after Maria on October 8, 2022, no doubt from a broken heart. Maria touched many lives and was a shining light to many. She will always be remembered for her smile, her sense of humor, her warmth and support, her artistic abilities in traditional media, sound art and photography, her amazing singing voice, and her musical abilities on guitar and piano.
Raised in Washington DC, Maria attended Oyster Bilingual Elementary School, The Field School and Wilson High School where she was a lacrosse star; serving as team co-captain and earning several Outstanding Player Awards, including for the most goals ever-scored in the school’s history. Though admitted based on her photography, Maria chose to study sound art and engineering at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. Subsequently, she lived for several years in California, Oakland and Santa Ana, moving to Key West, Florida in late 2021.
In the words of her sister Angelica: “To me, she was my little sister who would come flop on my bed to talk about anything and everything, who would suggest some hipster place to eat at in DC, the free-spirit I aspired to be, and who, in high school, would practice playing "Stairway to Heaven" until I hated that song (but thankfully it wasn't "Wonderwall")”.
Maria embodied the characteristics of her zodiac, Leo: her loyalty to the people she loved, the boldness to be unabashedly herself in all aspects, her creativity with her art and music, and her unending kindness and generosity. Maria had her struggles but worked to overcome them as much as she could, and she did her best. We just hope that she's found the peace she's sought for so long.
Maria - this isn't goodbye, it's a see you later.
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