Mary Ann Gearin

GEARIN, Mary Ann, 67 years, artist and world traveler, died Tuesday, January 19, 2010 after a courageous battle with cancer. Mary Ann grew up in Connecticut where she married John M. Gearin. They raised their family overseas, living in Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Korea, and traveling extensively throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Throughout her life Mary Ann was an avid tennis player, gracious hostess, outdoor enthusiast, and dedicated community volunteer. She was also an award-winning artist who belonged to several artists' groups in California and South Carolina including the Society of Bluffton Artists and the Art League Gallery of Hilton Head. Mary Ann is survived by her loving ex-husband, John Gearin; two daughters and their families, Cynthia, Lee, Nicholas and Benjamin Hilgartner of Anchorage, Alaska and Elizabeth Gearin, John, Olivia and Jack Evans of Arlington, Virginia; three siblings, Anthony Buonaiuto of Norwalk, Connecticut, Angela McGuire of Rose Hill Plantation, SC and Peter Buonaiuto of Hilton Head Plantation, SC; and many, many friends. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Gregory the Great Catholic Church, 333 Fording Island Road, Bluffton, SC at 11:00 am, Tuesday, January 26, 2010. The family requests memorial donations in Mary Ann's memory be made to Smile Train (www.smiletrain.org) or Covenant House (www.covenanthouse.org). Many thanks for the care and compassion shown by the Hospice Care of the Low Country. Mary Ann -- She will be greatly missed and never forgotten.