Mary Ann "Mimi" Jaster, 68, passed away peacefully at her home on March 25, 2016, after a life filled with smiles, music and love.

If you or your kids went to Jordan Catholic School in Rock Island at any time in the past three decades, you probably knew Mrs. Jaster.

And even if you don't remember her, she remembered you.

After volunteering at the school for years, she became a preschool teacher's aide in 1987. On the two weekdays she wasn't at school, she was taking care of her 4-year-old grandson, Jack, and getting him ready for it, looking forward to the day he would be in her class.

Mary Ann Arnett was born Jan. 22, 1948, in Rock Island to Victor and Dorothy. She welcomed two sisters, Kathy and Pat, and a brother, Tom, into this world. She graduated from Alleman High School in the class of 1966, and married John Jaster at Sacred Heart in Rock Island on Dec. 2, 1967.

She gave birth to two sons, Ryan in 1974 and Brad in 1976. Being a mother was the most important thing in the world to her.

She lived in Rock Island her entire life, but got to travel the world with her loving husband John, who cared for her during this fight.

Cancer is a terrible disease, she said often in the past seven months. She doesn't want to be remembered that way. She loved her friends, co-workers and family and missed you as much as you missed her. Remember the good times you shared. And smile. It's what Mimi would do.

Come celebrate her life in a Memorial Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rock Island on Wednesday at 10 a.m. A procession and inurnment at Calvary Cemetery in Rock Island will follow. Instead of flowers, she asks that you consider a donation to Jordan Catholic School or Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, Rock Island, is assisting the family with arrangements.