Mary Theresa Cruz Macgillivray

A graveside service for Mary Theresa Cruz MacGillivray, 74, will be held at 11:30 a.m. March 17 in Casa Grande Mountain View Cemetery as her remains are interred beside her mother's. The Rev. Eamon O'Gorman, a longtime family friend and pastor of St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church in Laguna Beach, Calif., will officiate. A reception will follow at J. Warren Funeral Services, Cole & Maud The Gardens House.


Mrs. MacGillivray was born in Casa Grande on Oct. 6, 1933 to Carlos and Dolores Cruz, part of a pioneer family. She died Sept. 22, 2008 in Newport Beach, Calif. Mass was celebrated at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Calif.

She attended school in Casa Grande and graduated from Casa Grande Union High School with honors in 1951. She was active in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. She attended Adrian College in Michigan and Holy Names College in Oakland, Calif. There she met her future husband, who was attending St. Mary's College, an all-male school. She received a degree in biology and later was a lab tech at Memorial Hospital in Long Beach, Calif. She enjoyed civic involvement, worked extensively with the city of Garden Grove, Calif., on various issues and was a parks and recreation commissioner. She once was named Woman of the Year.

She participated in many school and church activities at St. Columban's Catholic Church. After her children left for college, teaching became her passion. Her colleagues and students at Centennial Education Center remember her as vibrant, energetic and generous.

Survivors include four children, Alex, Alexa, Adrien and Andrea; a brother, Fred; and four grandchildren.