Mae Juanita Marinello

A-Mae-Zing Mae Marinello - Mother, Daughter, Sister, Grandmother, Aunt, Friend, Writer, Teacher, singer of lullabies, and champion and cheerleader to so many, transitioned from this life on August 8th while surrounded by the love of family.

Born Mae Wagner in July of 1941 in the little town of Hettinger, North Dakota to Sebastian "Budd" and Alice Mae Wagner. She was the fourth of five children and spent much of her formative years playing paper dolls with her sister, Betty, reading, helping her dad on the farm, and exploring their unique house with "the church part" in it.

Mae moved to California during high school with her mother and sister. These were difficult times as she missed her Dad and brothers, but she made the best of it with her newfound best friend, Sandy Kringer. During a trip to the beach, she met her future husband and father of her children, Dale Banks. She was madly in love, and they married 2 weeks before she graduated from High School. They had three children, Robert, Kenneth, and Gabrielle. Though Mae and Dale's union didn't last, she was forever grateful to him for the gift of their children.

Mae re-invented her life many times. Through marriages, jobs, college, moving homes, and starting a new career in her 50's, Mae always landed on her feet. She was a woman of courage and strength. Nothing in her life ever seemed to come easy, but she endeavored anyway.

After completing her college education, she began her journey as a teacher. First as a substitute, and eventually becoming a full-time teacher at March Mountain High School. Mae's work with young people made lifelong impacts on her students. She didn't follow a traditional framework of teaching and instead taught to her students' needs. She tapped into their interests and taught them how to love learning in ways that would last a lifetime.

In Retirement, Mae spent time with family, took numerous road trips, focused on writing for her hometown newspaper, as well as establishing an Inlandia based writing group, and married Alex Marinello. Mae and Alex spent 8 beautiful years together before his passing. They packed their RV, took their beloved dog, and met with their Rover friends from the Elks Lodge in many wonderful places. They hosted combined family gatherings, visited their favorite casinos, gardened and cooked together, and called each other Darlin'.

After Alex passed, Mae re-invented. She downsized and moved to a smaller home and focused on health issues and supporting her Joslyn Joy Writers in getting their stories published. She was a champion to others, recognizing and nurturing their gifts and talents and lifting them to their potential. This was Mae's superpower. She did it with family, friends, and strangers. If you encountered her, you were lifted by her. Mae's deepest love was always her family, to whom she nurtured and was the guiding force. She was generous with her time and attention and always provided a safe place to land for every generation. She is survived by her three children and their spouses, 9 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, her sister (and best friend) Betty, and brother Paul, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

If you wish to honor Mae, subscribe to your local newspaper, write your own story, or plant sweet peas and find her among their fragrance and blooms. A celebration of her life will be held at 11am on October 1st at Emmerson-Bartlett Memorial Chapel, 703 Brookside Ave, Redlands, CA, followed by a gathering at the Joslyn Senior Center.