Mary Stewart Gerhart, 65, passed away peacefully at her home in Ojai, California, on October 14, 2024, surrounded by friends and family.
Mary was born on April 28, 1959 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey. She spent her childhood in Ridgewood, New Jersey before moving to Santa Barbara, California (where she graduated from Laguna Blanca High School). Mary spent summers from an early age on the shores of Lake Champlain, with friends, family, and countless golden retrievers. This is where she developed her sense of adventure – specifically her love for snow and water skiing – hobbies she carried into adulthood.
Later in life, Mary lived between Ojai, California and Tega Cay, South Carolina. She pursued a career in finance & accounting, most recently serving as finance lead at Crescent Event Productions, where she worked for over a decade. In her free time, she took up hiking, participating in multiple 28+ mile one-day hikes while raising money for Make-a-Wish. Even after her cancer diagnosis in 2021, Mary continued to live an active life – hiking, skiing (as recently as February of this year, while undergoing cancer treatments) and traveling.
Mary lived a life marked by courage and strength, always maintaining a positive attitude. She had a remarkable sense of humor, finding joy even in tough times. She lived each day to the fullest, inspiring anyone who knew her to become better versions of themselves by following her example.
Mary cherished her time with friends and family, and especially her role as a grandmother – these moments were among her most treasured. She is survived by her loving family: her daughter Anne Gerhart-Ramsay and husband Philip; son Christopher Gerhart, wife Brennan, and sons, Nathan, William, and Weston; daughter Heather Orrantia, husband Hunter and son Raife; brother, John Stewart and husband Gregory Zarian; sister Katherine Kemp, partner Ben Beckwith and nephew Peter Kemp; brother James Andrew Stewart (Andy) and partner Zee Reeder; and one unborn grandchild. She was preceded in death by her parents Anne Rose Stewart and Joseph Wray Stewart III; brother Joseph Wray Stewart IV (Nick) and nephew Joseph Wray Stewart V (Joey); as well as her loyal golden retriever Sandi.
Mary’s family would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff at Cedars-Sinai, Livingston Hospice and The Gables of Ojai, who lovingly cared for Mary as she courageously and gracefully fought her battle and lived out her final months.
A Celebration of Life will be held in Mary’s honor on Saturday, November 23rd in Ojai, California. An additional celebration will be held in the spring of 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. A private burial will take place in the summer of 2025 at the Port Douglas Cemetery on the shores of Lake Champlain. And finally, the second annual Marython (a charity walk named for Mary, where she recently walked 1.3 miles while raising $12,000+ for ovarian cancer research) will be held in the fall of 2025, and annually thereafter.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Dr. Bobbie Rimel’s ovarian cancer research group at Cedars-Sinai, which can be found online at https://support.cedars-sinai.edu/marython.
