Mary Ann (Flagg) Himmer, 71.

PositionOBITUARIES

HOLDEN / WEST BOYLSTON - Mary Ann (Flagg) Himmer, 71, of Old Salisbury St., died peacefully at home in the presence of her loving family on Wednesday, December 26, 2012, after a brief illness. Born in Worcester on May 29, 1941, Mary Ann was the daughter of Maro and Ruth (Potter) Flagg and was a graduate of Wachusett Regional High School in Holden.

Mary Ann was one of nine children raised in their parent's funeral home, Flagg Funeral Home and Ambulance Service in West Boylston, where she learned at an early age the meaning and value of working together in a family business. Prior to her marriage, Mary Ann participated in competitive diving and won the Women's New England Diving Championship in 1957. On September 15, 1957, she married the love of her life, Robert L. Himmer of Sterling, and together they raised four children and later ventured to own and operate several successful businesses.

In 1960, Mary Ann and Bob started Himmer Limousine and Taxi Service in West Boylston and in 1965 purchased their first ambulance, a 1957 Cadillac, and established Himmer Ambulance Service out of their home on Bunker Hill Parkway. With a tenacious and entrepreneurial spirit, they expanded their ambulance service to Holden and subsequently operated another ambulance service in Worcester under the name of Worcester Ambulance Service. In 1972, they merged their two ambulance operations and became Worcester Himmer Ambulance. In 1980, with over 15 ambulances and numerous wheelchair vans to their credit, Mary Ann and Bob sold their ambulance service which had become Worcester County's largest ambulance service provider.

After enjoying several years of their much-anticipated retirement in Melbourne, Florida, Mary Ann and Bob once again got the entrepreneurial bug, and in 1988 opened Nation Wide Wheelchair Company in Melbourne, providing a variety of wheelchairs, mechanical lifts and accessories. After selling their business in 2010, they officially declared their retirement and...

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