Marie Antoinette Wahlgren

MARIE ANTOINETTE (“`MARINETTE”) WAHLGREN (August 15, 1931-March 24, 2023) Marie Antoinette (“Marinette”) Wahlgren died peacefully in her sleep on March 24. She was 92. A longtime resident of Mill Valley and previously Napa, Marinette is survived by her sons Eric and Christopher and her four grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband of nearly 40 years, Maurice. Marinette was known for her zest for life, passion for travel and devotion to her Catholic faith. A native of France, Marinette had a delightfully thick French accent and loved to entertain, cooking favorites from her homeland like boeuf bourguignon, ratatouille and soupe à l'oignon. While her focus in life was her family and raising her two sons, Marinette also kept busy by teaching French, working as nanny and serving as an officer in the Alliance Française de Napa Valley. In her later years, she relished spending time with her four grandchildren, Stella, Xavier, Elodie and Zazie, playing lots of games and teaching them French nursery rhymes. Marinette was born in Nantes, France on August 15, 1931, the second of four children. World War II broke out when she was a young girl and she grew up having to ration food and hide out in bomb shelters—memories that stuck with her for her entire life. As a young adult, she moved to Paris to attend midwifery school. After graduation, she worked in clinics across Paris helping to bring babies into the world. But she was struck with a desire to see the world. She landed a job as a director of childcare on the SS France, an ocean liner that would bring her to the Caribbean, South America and North American, including San Francisco. Something about the City by the Bay caught her fancy and she moved there in the early 1960s after spending a few months in New York learning English. She was working at the French Hospital in San Francisco (now the Kaiser Permanente French Campus on Geary Boulevard) when she was introduced to Maurice, a marine engineer at Chevron Shipping at the time. They got married at Notre Dame des Victoires French church in San Francisco and lived near Ocean Beach in the Richmond District before moving to Mill Valley. Marinette was a devoted wife and mother, raising her two sons Eric and Chris in Mill Valley before she and Maurice retired in Wine Country in Napa. She spent the last decade of her life in the Redwoods retirement community in Mill Valley, where she had many friends and an active social life. There, she liked to join the fellow Redwoods residents protesting against war on a street corner near the Redwoods. Friends and staff at the Redwoods always talked about her “charm,” “positivity” and “sweet spirit.” Marinette is survived by her son Eric Wahlgren and his children Stella and Xavier and her son Christopher Wahlgren and his children Elodie and Zazie. She’s also survived by her sister Hélène Courtois. A graveside service will be held at 12:30pm on March 30, 2023 at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa. A Memorial mass will be celebrated on March 31, 2023 at 9:30am at St. Hilary Catholic Church in Tiburon.

Marie Antoinette Wahlgren

August 15, 1931 - March 24, 2023

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Marie Antoinette Wahlgren

August 15, 1931 - March 24, 2023

Obituary Notification

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