Eddie Fern Mascarella was born in Big Spring, TX, not quite on the 4th of July, but ‘independence’ should have been her middle name. Her family lived on the sandy land farm where her mother and aunts had all been born and raised. It was a hard-scrabble life as they recovered from the Great Depression, the dust bowl, and navigated through WWII, with all of its rationing protocols and patriotic duties. Being on the farm meant the family never lacked for food, or for chores. Fern was never one to sit and do nothing! She graduated from high school at age 16 and went to work at a luxury boutique. Perhaps that is what
initiated her desire for the finer things in life. She married at 18 and left the farm to see the world but Fern never forgot her Texas roots. She moved to Tucson with her husband and daughter in 1961 and Fern
began volunteering in the Tucson Unified School District. In 1965, the marriage ended. Fern was hired at TUSD as an administrative assistant, aka secretary. Over the next years, she was promoted to jobs with increasing responsibilities within TUSD, and finally to Data Processing where she supervised the data input team until her retirement. It was during a major remodeling of the Data Processing Dept. that she met John Mascarella, the architect for the project. In the summer of 1969, they went to Las Vegas and married. He was the love of her life and after he died in 2012, she was never quite the same. Fern did not make friends easily, and was fiercely loyal to the ones she had. She was devoted to her blended family and is survived by daughters Glenda Empsall (John), Lynne Mascarella, Sue Johnson (Richard); grandchildren, Jessica O’Gorman (Robert), Nathan Empsall (Diana), Chris Empsall (Tracy); great grandchildren Jack O’Gorman, Sylvia Empsall and Oliver Empsall; Dianne and Ron Stearns, “Pete” and Heather Crabtree.
The family is thankful for the attentive care Fern received at Sunrise Sr. Living’s Reminiscence Community. We are especially grateful for the compassionate support from Casa de la Luz (hospice).
Donations in Fern’s memory to Casa de la Luz, 7740 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ 85704;
Alzheimer’s Association, 1159 N. Craycroft Rd., Tucson, AZ 85712; or Assistance League of Tucson, 1307 N. Alvernon Way, Tucson, AZ 85712 will be well-utilized and much appreciated.
Interment of ashes to be determined. Arrangements by East Lawn Palms Mortuary & Cemetery, 5801 E. Grant Road Tucson, AZ 85712.
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