Obituary of Vanessa Jean Mauro
Vanessa “Ness” Jean Mauro (72) longtime resident of St. Maries, ID passed away on October 14, 2024, surrounded by her loving family. She was born to Howard and Jean Dodge on March 21, 1952, in Fulton, NY. Ness grew up in Fulton until the age of 6 when her family relocated to Sylmar, CA. She graduated from Palm Springs High School with the class of 1970.
Following high school, Ness worked as a waitress at the Drifty Drug. She met her first husband Richard Medlock, the couple married in 1978, separated in 1980, and they divorced later in 1982. In 1980, Ness moved to Nevada where she worked as a bartender. Looking for change in 1982, she moved to St. Maries, ID. One of her first jobs here was as a bartender at Holstein’s. This is where she met Don Mauro. He walked in and told her he was going to make her his woman, and her reply was, “no you aren’t, I don’t like you”. Six months later, Ness finally caved and went on a date with him. They dated for a couple years, and married on June 25, 1985, in Columbia Falls, MT.
Ness worked at several St. Maries staples including Holstein’s, Sally’s Handi Corner, Gem State, Korner Klub, Valley Vista Care Center, and she was still employed by the St. Maries Senior Meal Site at the time of her death. She was a spit fire, and always had to be busy doing something. She was adventurous and loved taking road trips. Don was spontaneous, and the couple would often go on “drive” ending up at a bar or restaurant in Montana or other surrounding states. At one time, Don worked a lot in Montana and Ness was always by his side, so they adventured throughout the state of Montana which ended up being one of their favorite things to do. She also loved going to Palm Springs to visit family. Ness was a collector of anything and everything bears, whether it was figurines or stuffed animals, and she collected sweatshirts, buying 1 to 4 at a time on her trips. She was also an avid reader, loved her flowers and gardening, and most recently took up needlepoint, gifting a few things to some of her family. Ness had the biggest heart of anyone you would meet; however, if you made her mad, you most likely got to see the spunky and sassy side of her; she was small but mighty and fierce. She loved her people hard and made sure they knew it. Her great-granddaughter Adelyn had her wrapped around her little finger, and Ness loved her time with her. They had a set day of the week that she would pick her up and take her to school. Every year at Christmas Don and Ness would make homemade Amaretto together to give out and it always turned into tipsy taste testing. One year she bought the wrong booze and earned the nickname Nessarello.
Ness is survived by her bonus children Angel (Mitch) Donohoe of Medimont, ID, Dirk (Melissa) Mauro of St. Maries, ID, Debra (Scott) Thornbrugh of Coeur d’ Alene, ID, Jeanette Mauro of Post Falls, ID, and Donnie Mauro Jr. of Boise, ID; her sister Marsha Dodge of California; sister in-law Mary Turner of St. Maries; grandchildren Kami Haynes, Michael Mauro, Kailyn Robinson, Logan Thomas, and Dustyn Thomas; great-granddaughter Adelyn Schmidt and several other greats; bonus grandchildren Saralynn Downing, Frank and Adam Donohoe; her best friend Sandy Williams; God daughters Steph Williams and Jesse Williams; numerous nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, husband Don Mauro, and siblings Doug Dodge, Heather Cooper, and Jamie Dodge.
At Ness’ request, there will not be a formal service; however, her family would like to invite all of her family and friends to share a casual potluck meal and memories on Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 2-5 at the Elks Lodge in St. Maries. Memorial donations can be made to the St. Maries Senior Meal Site, 711 Jefferson, St. Maries, ID 83861.
