Mary M. Hastings' Obituary
Mary Margaret (Grandia Kasm) Hastings was born December 14th, 1959 in Harlingen, Texas. She passed away quietly and peacefully at home on Tuesday June 1st, 2021 in Lakeland, Florida surrounded and held closely by family members.
Mary moved and lived in various places from Alaska to Florida and eventually ended up in Tampa where she graduated from Robinson High School in 1977. After graduating and working different jobs, she became employed by The City of Tampa starting as a meter maid. Her beaming personality and angelic looks instantly made her a hit and she quickly advanced from there into SolidWastes and into Human Resources. Along the way she made many lasting friendships, and memories that she held closely to heart. Always the first to step forward and volunteer, she organized many lunches, events, and holiday parties. After a long career of thirty years she retired to Lakeland, Florida and devoted her remaining time to family, crafts, and travel. Alaska, Italy, and Hawaii were just a few destinations she checked off her bucket list. Snow skiing, motorcycling, and hot air ballooning were others. At an early age Mary learned to sew and that quickly developed into and ended with her as a Master Seamstress. With her giving nature and empathy she created and donated hundreds of pillow cases to children suffering from cancer at hospitals. During covid 2020, suffering with her own advancing colon cancer, she still sewed hundreds of masks that also went to cancer patients. As many family members can testify, they are left with gifts of quilts, wall-art, and special items that are a testament to her skills. And once again with her loving nature, she made numerous friends in the sewing guilds and clubs that she held dearly until the end.
If there was anything she loved more then her career, friends, and crafts, it was family. Blessed with a daughter and son whom she loved more dearly than life itself, she met and married her husband of 32 years on April 13th, 1989. Words cannot describe her great love for her husband, daughter, son, mother, grand children, brothers, sister, cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends. She will be sorely missed by those that knew, cherished, and loved her. A great hole has opened on Earth but an Angel is born in Heaven.
She leaves behind her husband Dale Hastings, daughter Melissa Thomason and her husband Matt, son Bryan Kasm, mother Maria Grandia, grand daughters Alyssa and Savannah Thomason, grandson Gavin Thomason, brothers JR and Dallas Grandia, sister Ruth Chism, sister/brother-in-laws (special thank you to Tamara) and numerous nephews nieces and cousins all of whom she loved immensely.
Funeral services will be held Saturday June 5th at Gentry-Morrison Funeral Home at Serenity Gardens 3350 Mall Hill Drive Lakeland, Fl 33810. Visitation and viewing will be from 10am-11am. Services to start at 11am.
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