Mary Anne Burnham Chesarek

Mary Anne Burnham Chesarek was born March 29, 1945 at Hill AFB to Glen Max Burnham and Carmen Adams Burnham Finan. She passed away on March 25, 2024.  Mary Anne grew up in Layton, Utah and attended public school for three years. She and her sister transferred to Rowland Hall school for girls, which was a surprise and a delight.

She graduated from Rowland Hall school in 1962 and attended Stanford University from 1962 to 1964, where she met the love of her life.  She and Richard were married on July 9, 1965, after which served a Navy hitch for two years at Monterrey, California.

In 1967, they moved to Los Angeles where Rich worked for Hughes Aircraft and earned a PhD at UCLA.   Mary Anne earned her BS in Nursing at Mount St. Mary’s College.  She worked in hospitals for a few years then went with the L.A. County Health Department.

Working at the Health Department was like detective work.  She especially enjoyed working with the southeast Asian refugees who has assisted us in Vietnam and now worked hard to pursue  the American dream.  In 1978, she and Rich moved to Seattle where she enjoyed working with native Americans at USPHS hospital.  In 1986, she got a dream job working in a family planning clinic.

This job in Seattle gave her the opportunity to work with people of all cultures of the world.

In 2000, she retired, she and Rich returned to Utah where they were able to live in the house her grandparents, Frank and Leone Adams, built.  She reunited with friends and made new ones at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection who have been incredibly supportive during her last days.

She is survived by her husband Richard, her sister Christine Helfrich and her husband Pete. Mary Anne is also survived by three stepsisters; Marianne Parsons, Bonnie Christenson, and  Sharon Lusienski, many nieces and nephews, and her beloved cats Jove, Rufus, and Princess.

Remembrance services will be Saturday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m. with a reception at 3:00 p.m. at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, 1131 S. Main Street, Centerville, Utah.

Arrangements entrusted to Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 N. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.