Mary Oesterle was one of those beautiful souls that sees everyone in the highest light. She served Swami Kriyananda directly as his secretary, cook and housekeeper on and off from 1986 – 1999, both at Ananda Village and at Ananda Assisi. She and Tom were extremely generous souls who supported Ananda’s work through Swami’s books and personal physical operations.
Mary McRae was born on September 21, 1946 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, a city in northeast England. She was the eldest of four siblings. She spent a year as an au pair in Paris in 1967, and then 7 years in London. She arrived in the USA in 1974, first in Chicago and soon thereafter in San Francisco. She worked as a legal secretary. She moved into Ananda’s San Francisco house a few years later after hearing Swami Kriyananda speak on the radio program New Dimensions. She lived there until 1984 when she moved to Ananda Village. She worked as Swami Kriyananda’s secretary between 1986 and 1991, after which she worked in the Ministry Office.
In 1989 she married Tom Oesterle. Tom and Mary built a house in Almora in 1990. Mary made three pilgrimages to India between 1988 and 1993. In 1997 she and Tom moved to Ananda Italia for 2 years. While there she cooked, cleaned, and did secretarial work for Swami Kriyananda. In 2000 she and Tom moved to Hawaii because Tom was having some health problems. They later moved to Sebastopol, California. She had a stroke in 2015 and passed away January 29, 2022.
Mary was an avid gardener and took long walks nearly every day. Going for walks was one of her favorite ways of connecting with friends. She and Tom made several trips to Ireland, Scotland, Norway and the Dolomites in Northern Italy to go on walking holidays. She played classical music on the piano and sung in Ananda’s choir. She was a massage therapist having received a degree from the Phillips School of Massage in Nevada City. She studied Holistic Nutrition at Baughman College in Penngrove, and received several degrees, including a degree as a Natural Chef. She gave a series of cooking classes between 2010 and 2014 on a variety of health-related topics. She was a member of SRF’s Santa Rosa Meditation Group, where she led meditations.
Mary was a very quiet, peaceful, and unassuming person. She had a number of dear friends that sought her out because her quiet nature made her a gifted listener. She was extraordinarily caring and trustworthy. Her wit and humor gave her a ready laugh and a twinkling eye. She enjoyed comedy including PG Wodehouse.