MaryAnn Montague

Mary Ann Wohlers Montague was tragically killed in a traffic accident on July 5, 2018, near her home in Dixon, California.  She was 77 years old.

She was born January 9, 1941 in Deer Lodge, Montana. Her early years were spent in Gold Creek and Deer Lodge, Montana. Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old.   She attended school in Deer Lodge until the 8th grade, then moved to Berkeley, California in 1953 with her mother Mary and brother Norman.  Her sister Beth had moved to New Mexico and spent the remainder of her life there.  She lived close to her brother Norman most of her life in Davis and Dixon, California.  Mary Ann graduated from high school in California and attended the University of California at Davis.  She graduated in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Horticulture, one of a very few women in the field at that time.

Mary Ann worked the majority of her career at the University of California at Davis in the Department of Entomology.  She was married and divorced twice and had no children.

Mary Ann lived a full life and enjoyed many things, including, traveling the world, helping disadvantaged children, and teaching painting classes.  She taught art at the Davis and Dixon Senior Centers and participated in art exhibitions throughout the area.  She spent countless hours researching her family history and was probably one of Ancestry.com’s best customers. She loved Keeshond dogs and had them as faithful companions for many years.  She also enjoyed music, paintings and other cultural activities.  She painted hundreds of watercolors that she exhibited frequently at art shows and shared with her nieces, nephews and friends.

She joined the Baha’i Faith in 1965 and continued as a devoted member until her passing, serving the community in a number of capacities. She had many good friends in the Baha’i community throughout California and around the world.

She was preceded in death by the majority of her immediate family—her father Claus Wohlers died July 13, 1966 and her mother Mary Cleaveland Wohlers passed away January 7, 2001. Her older sister and brother Beth Wohlers Tietjen and Norman Wohlers, both passed away in 2007. She was also predeceased by two brothers from her father’s second marriage—Claus Joseph Wohlers Jr., and Donald Wohlers,

She is survived by her sister Beth’s six children, Julie Ledbetter, Janet Ledbetter Anderson, James “Lee” Tietjen, Joseph E Tietjen, Tara Tietjen Porter and Lila Tietjen Smiel (and their respective families).  Also surviving her are her brother Norman’s three children, Gloria Caruana, Cady Horobin-Wohlers, Brice Horobin-Wohlers and their respective families; and by two sisters from her father’s second marriage, Peggy Gow (William) and Sandy Gehring (Jack).

Services will be held at 10:00 AM on July 16, 2018 at the Smith Funeral Home, located at 116 D Street, Davis, California; burial will follow in the Davis Cemetery on Pole Line Road.

Family and friends would like to thank the first responders and officers who were at the scene of the accident.