MaryAnn Wohlers Montague worked for UC Davis for more than 33 years. This image is from the Department of Entomology photo files when she worked with Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen.

Mrs. Montague worked with Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen in research and outreach programs, including the “Adopt a Scientist Program,” which linked university researchers with high school age students to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, particularly in the field of agriculture and natural resources.

She and Mussen co-authored “Adopt a Scientist—UC Davis,” published in 1997 in the Entomological Society of America's journal, The American Entomologist.

She also co-authored, with Mussen and other scientists, “The Effects of Chlortetracycline of Honey Bee Worker Larvae Reared in Vitro,” published in 1992 in the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology in 1992.

Mrs. Montague received two degrees from UC Davis: her bachelor of science degree in horticulture in 1963 and her master's degree in 1969. She joined the UC Davis workforce in 1967, beginning her career as an arborist, and retiring in 2001 with 33 years and four months of service to the university.

At the UC Davis Department of Entomology, she worked in several laboratories, including the lab of the late Charles Judson, an insect physiologist. “MaryAnn was a cheerful enthusiastic person,” recalled Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology who holds a joint appointment with the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.

A native of Deer Lodge, Mont., MaryAnn was born Jan. 9, 1941, one of three children born to Claus Wohlers and Mary Cleaveland Wohlers. Maryann spent her early years in Montana, and then moved to Berkeley in 1953 with her mother, Mary, and brother Norman.

A longtime Dixon resident and known as a talented artist, she taught art at the Davis and Dixon senior centers and participated in art exhibits throughout the area, her friends recalled. She exhibited her watercolors at numerous art shows. She joined the Baha'I Faith in 1965. Her other interests included researching her family history, and attending the Gorman Museum at UC Davis. 

Married twice but with no children, she was preceded in death by most of her family members. She is survived by six nieces and nephews: the children of her late sister, Beth Tietjen of New Mexico; and three nieces and nephews, the children of her late brother, Norman Wohlers of Davis.

Services will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, July 16 at the Smith Funeral Home, located at 116 D St., Davis. Burial will follow in the Davis Cemetery on Pole Line Road.

(Editor's Note: See obituary on the Smith Funeral Home website.)