Beloved wife, sister, and daughter, Marie Joyce Jacqueline Fletcher passed away surrounded by love and family, and fully supported by her faith, on Sunday December 22,2014. Marie was born in San Francisco to two loving and hard-working parents, Manuel and Nellie Gutierrez. She loved her city and spent her teen years avidly sharing her favorite movie houses, libraries, museums, and plays with her younger sister Charlotte. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from San Francisco State with a major in French. She met her husband James in 1989. They were soon married, settled in Salinas, and were devoted to each other for the following 26 years. Marie spent her life in pursuit of learning and creating beautiful things. An avid sewer, many of us have been blessed to receive one of her beautiful creations. Marie was a gentle soul and lived her life in pursuit of kindness and making the world a better place. Her battle with multiple myeloma these last five years has been impossibly hard on her and she showed immeasurable bravery and strength in the face of such hardship. She often took on additional discomfort to assist in research because of her dedication to the idea that her fight would help others with this horrible disease. Marie is survived by her husband James Fletcher, sister Charlotte Gutierrez, brother Doug Whitehurst, as well as many many relatives, and in-laws that love and miss her deeply.

A rosary and vigil service will be held 7:00pm, Monday, December 29, 2014 at Habing Family Funeral Home, 129 Fourth Street, Gilroy, CA. Funeral Mass will begin 1:30pm, Tuesday, December 30, 2014 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 22 Stone St., Salinas, CA. Burial will follow at Mt. Hope Memorial Park, 250 Spring Ave., Morgan Hill, CA.

Donations in Marie's memory may be made to Hospice of the Central Coast, 2 Upper Ragsdale Drive, D-120, Monterey, CA 93940-5730.