Marie H. Zecher
Born Henrietta Marie LaChance in San Pedro, CA on July 9th 1933. Kind, sincere, and having a sweet sense of humor is how she will be remembered, with admirable strength that her sons might have called delightful stubbornness at times. As a teen, Marie came to Saint Vincent’s in Santa Barbara, CA, where she lived and went to school. Her stories of the nuns, both kind and strict, as well as late night trips on the dumb waiter to get peanut butter delighted those lucky enough to hear her tell them. Her childhood memories include going to the movies with her mother at the Arlington Theater and experiencing the wonder of gazing up at the ceiling, where stars appear to twinkle in the night sky overhead.
As a young woman, she worked as a beautician in San Pedro, where it is rumored, she had a good number of suitors vying for her affection, as she was vivacious and quite the beauty. In 1956, she met William on Catalina Island while there for the weekend with her sister Joan and friends. Apparently, it was love at first dance. They married a few months later and raised their three sons in Torrance, CA. Marie was known by all her children’s friends as the mom that welcomed them into her home and heart, as well as the mom who would go blocks out of her way to avoid making a left-hand turn. She had an enviable ability to see the best in everyone, yet she was nobody’s fool. Marie was devoted to her family. She so enjoyed being a wife and mother, and was always there for her older family members as they aged.
In later life, she treasured her time with her grandchildren and returned to live in Santa Barbara, CA where she passed gently and peacefully on February 26th, 2024 with family at her side. She had a moral compass that those around her could set a true and sound course to live by. Marie was preceded in death by her husband William and brother Jean. She is survived by her sister Joan, sons Stephen, James and Ronald, daughter in laws Cynthia and Susan, and her grandchildren Timothy, Stephen, Catherine, Allison and Melisssa, who are grateful to have known her love and will miss her deeply. A graveside service will be held at Green Hills Memorial park in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA on March 29th at 3:00PM.