Keating, O’Gara, Nedved & Peter

It is with great sadness that we learned today of the death of one of our clients, Mary Anaya.

She was a courageous, principled, and loving wife, mother, minister, and friend.

May God rest her soul.

Woman’s spirit stilled by disease
By Erin Grace
Omaha World Herald
Published Thursday October 22, 2009

In this October 2007 photo, Mary Anaya is surrounded by her children. She holds son Joel, 6 weeks old at the time. Anaya, co-founder of Omaha’s largest food pantry, died Wednesday of lung cancer, an extremely rare diagnosis during pregnancy.

Mary Anaya fed the hungry and clothed the naked, all the while mothering 10 children, plus the one growing in her womb. But she died early Wednesday at age 42, leaving behind her family and a long record of loving her neighbor as herself.

Though diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer early in her pregnancy, she tried to continue her work with the food pantry she co-founded, Mission for All Nations. It is the largest food pantry in a 93-county area of Nebraska and Iowa.

But she died early Wednesday at age 42, leaving behind her family and a long record of loving her neighbor as herself.

Anaya died after midnight at Bergan Mercy Medical Center, said the pantry’s board president, David Philson, who is serving as a family spokesman. So did the 19-week-old fetus due in March whom she carried.

A funeral service will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at Glad Tidings Church, 7415 Hickory St.

Anaya lived a rare life through her service, her large family and, in her final months, trying to bear new life while confronting her impending death.

“Mary just was the organization,” said Michelle Moyes Dill, executive director of Together Inc., a nonprofit that distributes food and clothes. “You said, ‘Mary Anaya,’ and everybody knew it was Mission for All Nations. She gave everything she had. I think (she and husband Josue) would have given the last box of food out of their home cupboard to help somebody.”