Mary Anne Burrell:
CLASS OF 1972
Centennial High SchoolClass of 1972
Champaign, IL
University of IllinoisClass of 1976
Urbana, IL
Jefferson Middle SchoolClass of 1969
Champaign, IL
Westview Elementary SchoolClass of 1966
Champaign, IL
Mary Anne's Story
Life
I got my BA in Spanish Secondary Ed from the U of I in 1975. Moved to San Jose, CA in 1976 and have now lived here longer than in IL. My parents and sister moved out of C-U, so now I consider this "home." I love the ethnic diversity, the tolerance and the temperate climate here. Smog, real estate prices and the sizes of homes/yards suck! People are also friendlier in the Midwest, and I have "wave withdrawal" when I return here from visits back there.
I got two Master's degrees from San Jose State University and I worked as a teacher at Santa Teresa HS (public despite its name) from 1981-2016 and I loved it. I taught every level of Spanish and retired only because of my husband's health. My students, godchildren and ex-stepchildren (whom I still "claim") are "my kids" and I don't regret not procreating, although I am a lot of woman to waste... ... ...
I struggled financially for many years to hang onto my teeny tiny "zero lot line cluster home." Rick Gifford and family and Pat McHugh visited while I lived there for almost 30 years. Pat McHugh lived here for a few...Expand for more
weeks (Winter--Spring 2003) and I felt like I was back in high school with my best friend... ... ...
In August 02 I married a colleague, CJ Howard. (I have stayed "Burrell.") He was my friend for 20 plus years. It was totally cool to be with another teacher. I feel very lucky to have found him.
He retired and we moved in 2007 to a bedroom community just south of San Jose. It is one of the few places in the Bay Area where you can drive through and see bales of hay, horses, cows roadside stands, etc. Our home is now on all one level and it worked better for his back and my knees. With my big Spanish teacher medical degree, I diagnosed him with mild cognitive impairment in 2009. Long story short, his health deteriorated rapidly and he was diagnosed with dementia. I had to push hard for the diagnosis and the meds. In 2018 he was placed in locked memory care and thank God it was a facility close enough to the house where I could visit multiple times per day. In January 2020 he passed away after being bed-ridden for almost 5 weeks and I am now adjusting to "my next life."
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