MaryLouise C. Condon Hartje

MARYLOUISE C. CONDON HARTJE

Surrounded by her daughters, MaryLou quietly passed away the morning of June 7, 2020 at the age of 87. She was born May 30, 1933 in Los Angeles, and raised in Long Beach, where she attended St. Matthew’s Elementary and St. Anthony’s High School; after graduation, she worked for the phone company and the AAA Club, where she met her future husband James.

During her life MaryLou, along with her husband and “large brood”, lived in a number of Southern California cities, finally settling almost 48 years ago in Lake Elsinore. She and Jim owned and ran “The Tavern” on Main St. for several years; she also worked tirelessly for the Lake Elsinore School District as a Teacher’s Aide for over 20 years, retiring at the age of 81. Her “retirement” years were filled with gardening and feeding her wild birds, reading voraciously and doing tons of crossword puzzles, crafting and decorating for every holiday, watching old movies (especially on TCM), and especially visiting as often as possible with every member of her large and beloved family.

MaryLou was preceded in death by James and her daughter Dawn, her sister Janet Wynne, and brothers Joe and Jerry Condon, as well as her parents Joseph and Evangeline Condon; she is survived by her daughters Michelle, Stephanie Martinez, Kathleen Zupan (Pete), Christine McCoy (John), Rachel Montgomery (Devin), and Tabatha Strobel (Steve), and son Adam; eleven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her beautiful soul will live within each of them, and her sweet smile and cheerful laugh will be greatly missed by all.

“I am standing on the seashore. A ship spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the ocean. I stand watching her until she fades on the horizon, and someone at my side says, ’She is gone’.”
“Gone where? The loss of sight is in me, not in her. Just at the moment when someone says, ‘She is gone’, there are others who are watching her coming. Other voices take up the glad shout, ‘Here she comes’, and that is dying.”