Mara Lynn Perea

July 06, 1956 - November 06, 2023

Mara Campbell Perea

Born Mara Lynn Campbell July 6, 1956, Kansas City, MO, to parents James L Campbell and Carol June Russell Campbell.

Died November 6, 2023, 10:45 am from complications of a nearly-year-long battle with Lymphoma including a very serious bout with Covid 19.

Mara attended Border Star Grade School in Kansas City, MO, and Graduated from Amarillo High School in Amarillo, TX in 1974.

After high school Mara earned a Bachelor’s Degree at Amarillo College in Fashion Marketing and set off for Dallas where she worked for a short while as a fitting modeling and later started a career as a Tech Recruiter working for Sprint Paranet. Eventually she moved to Scottsdale, Arizona where she established a new base and began traveling the country to recruit Executive Officers and high-level Tech Workers for DHL International shipping. She loved her job and worked hard to become recognized as a star recruiter for the company. She created a rich and happy life, a beautiful home, and made a lot of great friends. She also started selling real estate and became very respected in that industry as well, making many more life-long friends along the way.

At the age of 49, Mara had a catastrophic stroke during a work meeting that effectively ended her work life and forced her to focus on rehab and recovery. In spite of months and months of physical therapy and several experimental treatments and procedures, Mara never regained the motion or control of her left leg or left arm. In spite of all of the pain and unsuccessful efforts, Mara always remained kind, optimistic, and friendly and continued to make and collect new friend along her journey. Mara has also always loved animals and has loved a string of wonderful dogs and cats over the years. For several months after her stroke, our Mother stayed with Mara and helped her rebuild her life, and soon after Mom returned to her home in Dallas, Mara moved back there again herself to live near Mom.

Around 2013 Mara moved back to Amarillo, TX to be near her family and particularly her father who we lost in 2014. She lived completely independently and eventually bought another home and began collecting pets and friends again. Around 2019, Mara met and married a man from New Mexico and she and her 2 dogs and 4 cats moved to his home in Roy, NM. Unfortunately, after only two years of marriage, her husband passed away and Mara was alone again. With 1 dog and 4 cats of course.

Mara loved New Mexico and decided to stay there, and was excited about plans to remodel her small home and create flower and vegetable gardens and was looking forward to sharing her life

with new friends she had made in her new town.

Unfortunately, in December of 2022, Mara started falling and having a hard time standing and walking, so she was flown by helicopter back to Amarillo to BSA Hospital and Harrington Cancer Center where a tumor was discovered growing on her spine, pressing on her spinal cord and that was determined to be Flat B cell Lymphoma. Mara immediately started receiving radiation treatments which effectively killed the tumor, and then started working on physical therapy to get her walking again, while also receiving a series of Chemotherapy infusions that would kill the cancer once and for all. After receiving only two treatments, Mara contracted Covid-19 and was knocked off her feet again and nearly died. She developed pneumonia and had multiple procedures including a thoracotomy to try to re-inflate a collapsed lung which did not work. She was beaten down and worn out with her immune system severely compromised and her strength and abilities diminished

Meanwhile, while she was fighting Covid, the remaining cancer took the opportunity to spread rapidly around her body. She DID manage to survive the Covid and started a new series of Chemotherapy to battle the cancer again. Over the next several months she had five tough treatments which seemed to be working again, and she made friends with everyone one at the infusion center. Finally in early November, her CT scan showed that she was clean of cancer. We all thought she had made it through everything and had finally won! She would be going back to New Mexico soon to begin rebuilding her life!

Unfortunately, on Saturday, November 5th, Mara started having trouble catching her breath and was admitted to the hospital again. She was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis and in spite of all efforts by a really wonderful Critical Care staff, her vital signs and organ functions continued to drop and she continued to struggle and within 12 hours Mara had slipped into a coma-like condition being kept alive only by many IV drugs and mechanical breathing support. After a very tough year of fighting cancer and Covid, on the tail end of a long life of struggles and challenges, Mara passed away gently, surrounded by loved ones on Monday, November 6th at 10:45 am.

People that knew Mara, knew her as an optimistic, friendly, brave, tenacious, kind, loving, and spiritual person, with Christian values and habits. Aways ready to see the best in people, quick to forgive, generous with a wicked laugh. She was smart and articulate with a great vocabulary that she always attributed to our Mom. She was a voracious reader, loved movies and music, and most of all, she loved her people and her animals. Mara was well loved and many many people will miss having her in their lives.

She is survived by 3 brothers, 4 sisters, a step Mom, assorted sibling mates, nieces, nephews, 1 very large dog, 4 cats, and many many friends all of whom she loved with her whole heart.

Tribute Wall

P

patsy kissick

i met mara in the apparel business. she was the junior fitting model. we became instant friends. i have always loved her and we tried to keep in touch. my heart breaks that she is gone but i know she is in the presence of the lord. she was a dear sweet lady. patsy long kissick

https://www.rectorfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Mara-Lynn-Perea?obId=29830341