Mary Springer, a longtime luminary in the local performing-arts world, has died. Her family shares this remembrance with word of her memorial service next month:
Mary Opland Springer, a light to all who were lucky to know her, passed away on March 3, 2026, in Seattle. Services will be held at 2 pm on May 16th at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, 3050 California Ave SW, West Seattle. A reception will follow and all are welcome.
Mary was born on May 15, 1951, in Pipestone, MN, to AnnaMae and Allen (Al) Opland, the third of their three children. Their home was filled with music and laughter, and the gift of music would follow Mary throughout her life.
After moving to Missoula, MT, to finish her undergraduate degree, Mary met Rick Springer and on August 3, 1975, they married. She was a devoted and magical mother to their two children, Anna Cronin and Jonathan Springer.
In 1980 they moved to Seattle, where she spent the rest of her life teaching music and theater to kids across Puget Sound. Students who had the good fortune to attend her schools learned how to be brave, pushing themselves to try new things and reach new heights under her loving direction.
Mary was a deeply gifted educator who took great joy in crafting lessons and guiding students to explore material, helping them see the world with new eyes. She frequently taught other educators, held workshops at education conferences, and went back to school in her late 40s to get her master’s degree in education. Being an educator was an identity that she wore proudly.
Early in her career, she held theater summer camps that later blossomed into one of her proudest achievements – a community theatre troupe called Twelfth Night Productions (TNP). Over more than 25 years, TNP grew into a beautiful and welcoming community where artists could explore, find belonging, and create lasting friendships that are more like family. TNP became a beloved West Seattle institution, producing four shows a year, including an annual summer musical and holiday radio play.
Mary’s beautiful life touched thousands of lives, and the world is an infinitely better place because she was here.
Mary is survived by her family: husband Rick Springer, daughter Anna Cronin and son-in-law Travis Cronin, son Jonathan Springer and daughter-in-law Shally Springer, and grandchildren Cassius Springer, Oliver Cronin, Laila Springer, and Cecilia (Cece) Cronin.
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