It brings great sadness to announce the passing of Mary, from this world to the next, in this great mystery of life. May she rest, in peace.
She was born Mary Virginia Simpson on November 17, 1918 at St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard, California. Mary was the only child of Mary Virginia (Parks) Simpson and George Levick Simpson. The first day of her life she was brought to Rancho Virginia in Sespe, California, which was owned by her grandmother, Virginia Bizzell Parks. Soon afterward, she returned with her parents to their home in Los Angeles, California. Mary’s father was the western U.S. sales manager for Fisk Tires and was a member of the Wilshire Country Club, where he golfed with many players of the day, including Bobby Jones.
Before Mary was old enough to go to school, she and her parents moved to Vallejo, California for a few years, then returned to Los Angeles. Mary usually spent her summers with her grandmother at Rancho Virginia in Sespe. She finished her primary schooling in Los Angeles, and then moved with her parents to Rancho Virginia in 1933.
Mary attended Fillmore High School, graduating in 1937, and the following year she took a post-graduate course there. In 1938 she began a long career as secretary at Sespe Elementary School in Fillmore, California. She was a dedicated employee there through several generations of students. In 1943 Mary was wed to Robert W. “Bud” Spitler. They were married for 25 years. She retired from Sespe Elementary School in 1986.
After “retiring” the first time, Mary continued to do secretarial work, first for Stephen Onstot & Associates, and later, for many years, for the Fillmore Irrigation Company, retiring full-time to her beloved Rancho Virginia in 2004.
Mary was well known for her outgoing and indomitable spirit. She often befriended the kids who, for one reason or another, ended up in the school principal’s office. She volunteered her time to civic and religious functions in Fillmore. One of her lifelong dedications was to the welfare of cats and dogs, taking many into her home, and being a regular donor to the Humane Society, the SPCA, and the Canine Adoption and Rescue League (CARL’s) in Santa Paula, California. Mary was a longtime member of the Humane Society, the American Cancer Society, the Fillmore Alumni Association, and Trinity Episcopal Church in Fillmore.
She will be greatly missed by her dear friends, three godsons, three goddaughters, the “Rancho Virginia boys”, and their families. According to her wishes a private memorial party in her honor will be held at Rancho Virginia at a later date.
Donations in Mary’s memory can be made to CARL’s in Santa Paula through their website donation link at carldog.org or by mail at 901 Mission Rock Road, Santa Paula, CA 93060.