May 20, 1935 - December 24, 2022

Mary Anne (Bower) Golay, 87, passed away peacefully, Saturday December 24, 2022, at The Dove House in Whittier. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 53 years, Robert Lee Golay on November 27, 2017.

Born May 20, 1935, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, she was a daughter of the late John Franklin Bower and Anna Elizabeth (Antes) Bower.

Mary moved from Pennsylvania to Tucson, Arizona when she was 22 years old to be with her sister. A year later, in 1958, she went on a blind date with her future husband, Robert Lee Golay. He was the Physical Education Director at the Tucson YMCA at that time and they dated for six years before getting married on September 11, 1964.

Mary worked at the Mountain States Telephone Company in Tucson, Arizona and then transferred to the Pacific Telephone Company in California as a service representative. She raised her children full time until they were in High School when she then went to work at Bellflower Unified School District in the Personnel Department. She made life long friends there and enjoyed her work. Mary was a great support to her husband, Robert, in his career with the YMCA often hosting campaign fundraising events at their home and attending many YMCA retirement events in the years that followed. In 2019, Mary joined a Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.) and was serving as “Guard” and also a member of the book club.

Mary enjoyed spending time with her family, grandchildren and friends. She loved to travel with her husband and they went on many trips and cruises throughout the world. She and her “Church Lady Squad” enjoyed Taco Tuesdays and long chats, she started a monthly Bunco group with 12 friends in 2006 that is still going strong. In 2019 she created “den sipping” events with neighbors and close friends who gathered to celebrate life and family during the summer and fall months.

Mary always enjoyed and supported her grandchildren’s activities. She was a big fan at their baseball and basketball games and gymnastics meets, always cheering them on with love and support. Mary was extremely proud of her family, raising her daughters and making her house a home filled with love and good smelling delicious food! Mary was also a woman of great faith and enjoyed attending church services at First Presbyterian Church in Downey, Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, and Shepherds Grove Church in Irvine.

Mary is survived by her two daughters, Lori Tabb (Eric Tabb) and Lani Golay (Jennifer Schenfeld), and four grandchildren Ryder, Riley, Madison and Lilliana, as well as numerous nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

In addition to her parents and husband, Mary was preceded in death by four brothers, John A., Philip C., Donald F. and Dale V. Bower as well as two sisters, Martha V. and Sara E. Bower.