Maria Grayson-Metaxas (formerly Maria Ross Hanahan) died peacefully Aug. 13, 2012, at her home in Berkeley, Calif., after an inspiring three-year battle with colon cancer. At her side were her devoted husband, Van Metaxas ’84, and their beloved 10-year-old son, Satchi.
Born March 2, 1961, in Richmond, Va., Maria moved to Charleston, S.C., where she graduated with first honors from Ashley Hall School. At Princeton, she majored in religion, was an R.A. in Campbell Hall, and joined Tower Club. She wrote her thesis on “The Image of God in Radical Feminist Theology.”
After Princeton, Maria did social work in Washington, D.C., and explored her creativity as a ceramic artist on Folly Beach, S.C., before moving to the Bay Area and discovering her life’s calling as a somatic and movement therapist. In addition to a private practice, she ran the onsite massage program for Odwalla’s northern California offices. In the last 10 years, she devoted herself to family, friends, community, and her spiritual teacher, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi.
In life, as in death, she inspired everyone whose life she touched by her spirit, inner strength, kindness, and dedication to cultivating love, presence, and awareness.