Mary Ann Carruthers Ronne-Lotz

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  • Mary Ann Carruthers Ronne-Lotz
    Mary Ann Carruthers Ronne-Lotz
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Mary Ann Carruthers Ronne-Lotz was a loving and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and a giving friend to all she met. Mary Ann passed away from the tender arms of her children to meet her Lord on Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 to reunite with her beloved husband of 31 years, Bo; her precious daughter, Alissa Kathleen; her parents and brother, John C.C. Hamilton, all who preceded her in death. She will always be remembered for her strong faith, deep love of family, determination and tenacity. Mary Ann, a native of Houston, was born on Jun. 30, 1942 to Mary Hamilton Carruthers and Carlton Kent Carruthers. She was blessed with four children, twelve grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She raised her children in Corpus Christi, later moving to Houston while Alissa was at M.D. Anderson receiving treatments; then to Cuero, Ingram, San Antonio and her last residence in Bee Cave, Texas.

Mary Ann married the love of her life, Bo Ronne-Lotz in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Italy on May 20, 1998. In 1978 she was invested in The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the highest honor bestowed upon a layperson in the Catholic Church, and where she had the title of Lady Grand Cross.  She also received the silver Palm of Jerusalem award within the order.   She, along with Bo, was privileged to have met Pope John Paul II in the Vatican.

She was a member of the Junior League, Charity League and Symphony Guild in Corpus Christi and was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. For many years she was both a reader and Eucharistic Minister in her Catholic Church parishes. Mary Ann was also an avid world traveler, having visited Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and most of the Continental United States, as well as most of the countries in Europe. Mary Ann also traveled to the Holy Land twice, and to Jordan.  She resided in Hamburg, Germany with Bo for nearly one year; and she climbed upon the Berlin Wall beside a Russian soldier sentinel in early 1994, as he was guarding the Wall shortly after it had been opened.

Mary Ann was a lifelong collector of fine European and Oriental antiques with which she decorated their home. She revered tradition and kept daily journals for most of her life. For a time, she collected and wore antique clothes from the nineteenth century. Her Christmas tree was filled with ornaments from each destination of her early travel, and beneath the tree were Bo’s and her toys, dolls and books from their childhoods.

She dearly loved horses and enjoyed a time when she and her children competed in Arabian horse shows throughout the state. Then a horrific car wreck changed her family life in 1975 when a drunk driver drove head-on into her car along with her four children, and they were affected severely by the various injuries they sustained. In 1983, Mary Ann composed the story of the damage to her family and wrote documents supporting stricter laws against drunk driving in Texas. She personally presented the documents to both the State and the House of Representatives, and to attentive audiences there.

While attending Cuero High School, she was a statewide award-winning percussionist, and was not only known for her talent as a percussionist, but also for her twirling talent as well. She was Sultana Oreuc XII in the Turkey Trot of 1960 and was named “Miss Cuero” that same year. Mary Ann attended the University of Texas in 1959-1960, was initiated in the Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and was named “Miss Engineer”, elected by the students in the five schools of engineering. She then left U.T. to marry and have a family.

She later took classes at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and received two degrees from the Victoria College. Mary Ann was inquisitive about almost everything and she was a lifelong learner. In 1999, she went on a month-long study trip to the Holy Land and Jordan with graduate students and a professor from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio.  Then, with the strong support and encouragement from Bo, she went on to successfully pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree (Distinguished Graduate), with her bachelor’s degree and master’s both in theology from St. Mary’s University. Mary Ann was named one of the ten recipients of the prestigious Presidential Award within the Saint Mary’s graduating class in 2002. In addition, she was named to the Dean’s Honor List and two national scholarship honor societies. Mary Ann and Bo resided seventy-five miles from St. Mary’s, but she diligently made the trip for five years as she pursued her degrees. Following graduation, she entered a Clinical Pastoral Education Course, where she was attending classes in San Antonio also while serving as a chaplain at the VA Hospital in Kerrville, a position she truly loved. From there, she took an extensive course in Spiritual Direction at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio.

Mary Ann is survived by her daughters, son and their spouses: Patricia and Michael Thamm; Michael and Cynthia Warzecha and Andrea and John Kelly.  Mary Ann deeply loved and was very proud of her grandchildren: Patricia’s children, Natalie, Madalynn, Russell and Keegan; Michael’s child, Sarah, and Andrea’s children, Jennifer, Geoffrey, Colin, Ruby, Clara, Olivia and Vincent; and great-grandchildren: Natalie’s son, Charles and Sarah’s daughter, Sophia.  Mary Ann is also survived by her sister-in-law, Cindy Hamilton and niece, Alexandra Hamilton, both of Cuero.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband; brother; and daughter, Alissa Kathleen Warzecha.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021, 1:30 p.m. at St. Michaels Catholic Church with a rosary at 2:00 p.m. Mass of the resurrection will follow at 2:30 p.m. with Father Jacob Mendoza presiding. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Cuero beside Bo; her daughter, Alissa; her parents; her precious friend, Alma Wolff and her brother, John C. C. Hamilton.

You may sign the guestbook or send condolences at www.freundfuneralhome.com.

Freund Funeral Home, 361-275-2343.