Marion K. Heiligmann, 92, of Lexington, MA passed away unexpectedly on May 11, 2012.

Marion who was also well known as "Mamie" and "BeMa" was born in Somerville, MA on August 16, 1919, to the late Joseph and Annie (McDonald) Thomas.

She grew up in Belmont and moved to North Cambridge after marrying her (former) husband, Francis. R. Heiligmann in 1945. The family then moved to Lexington in 1959 to give their children a more suburban life.

Marion was employed at Container Corp in Somerville, Transportation Management in Lexington as a school bus driver for special needs children; Saint Michael's Church in Bedford, and The Lexington Council on Aging as a home health aide until she finally retired at the age of 84. She was an active member of the community for more than five decades.

As a born again Christian through the Billy Graham Crusade as a young woman, she enjoyed watching spiritual television programs as well as reading one of her many Bibles. She had attended services & was involved in Bible study & various groups at Grace Chapel in Lexington.

Marion loved baking and having a hot pot of tea to go along with her baked treats. Family was a very important part of her life and she loved spending time with her six siblings. As an avid crossword puzzle fan, she would sometimes finish a few dozen puzzles in a single day. For many years, no one could beat her at Scrabble. Her fondest down time was spent listening to her "Big Band" music tapes as well as the Bee Gee's musical group. Some of her "best days" as she called them, were the afternoons that her daughter Lynn would just drive her around the streets of Belmont with her Sirius Satellite Radio station blasting hits from the 40's. She was especially proud of her daughter Bonnie, when she opened her own flower shop in 2006 in Bedford.

She was the loving mother of Robert and his wife, Toby of NY, Linda (Lynn) (Turner) Gawlik and her husband, Fred of Burlington, William (H.D.) of CA and Bonnie of Lexington; dear sister of Hazen Thomas and his wife, Phyllis of Lexington, Josie Bush of Bedford, Barbara Cassidy of AZ and the late Donald and William Thomas and Sadie (Thomas) Conlon, sister-in-laws, Naomi Thomas of S. Yarmouth and Connie Thomas of Cambridge as well as her late brother-in-laws, Marty Conlon, Verne Cassidy & Walter Bush.

She is also survived by four devoted grandchildren; Sarah Turner and her partner, "Hunko" (BeMa's name for him) Richard Sherman, Scott Turner (who was born on her 55th birthday) and his wife, Tammy, Omesh Bosali and Jordan Heiligmann and three great grandchildren; Brendan, Mason and Ryan Turner and many nieces & nephews.

A memorial service will be held at 4:00 pm on Thursday, June 21st at Pilgrim Congregational Church of Lexington, 55 Coolidge Avenue, Lexington, MA with reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Marion's memory to The Disabled American Veterans, PO Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301