Alma Spier (née Baker) is Mary Anne Spier's deceased mother. She was married to Richard Spier. Her parents are Verna and Bill Baker.
Biography[]
In Mary Anne and the Little Princess, Mary Anne mentions that her mom played college basketball.
In the Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic it mentions that she grew up in Maynard, Iowa. After Alma's death, Mary Anne, then a toddler, lived on the farm for about a year while her father dealt with his grief. It's mentioned she was a lovely person, very welcoming to the Thomases when they moved in next door. She made them an applesauce cake and offered to help them move in.
Richard said that Mary Anne looks and behaves just like her. Alma had a bright, sunny disposition, similar to Mary Anne. She wrote Mary Anne a letter to her when she turned sixteen. Richard ended up giving her it at thirteen instead. The letter outlined how she and Richard met and fell in love, her hopes and dreams for Mary Anne, and the hopes and dreams she’d once had for herself. In childhood, she was sensitive and shy and loved animals. Her middle school grades were all A's.
She made a great applesauce cake. Her cherry-chocolate cake recipe, named Alma's Memory Cake, becomes a contest winner in Claudia and the Recipe for Danger. While she liked to bake she was a terrible cook. She loved to sew, knit, and make other handiworks. Her mother made Alma an apron when she was about thirteen. Mary Anne wears the apron for the Battle of the Bakers contest.
Trivia[]
- Alma died of cancer which was first mentioned in Kristy's Great Idea. Mary Anne was a baby when she died, shortly after she was diagnosed in Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic.
- Early editions of Mary Anne Saves the Day give Mary Anne's mother the name Abigail instead of Alma.
- Sometimes Mary Anne is mad at Alma for dying like in Stacey's Movie
- Mary Anne saved one picture of her after the fire in The Fire at Mary Anne's House.
- She once went to a Rolling Stones concert mentioned in Mary Anne's Book.
- She's buried in Stoneybrook Cemetery in Mary Anne and the Secret in the Attic. It's mentioned that Richard took Mary Anne to the site before she left for Iowa.
- Her pet name was sweetie-pie in Claudia and the Recipe for Danger.
- In Mary Anne Saves The Day, Mary Anne tells Dawn that her mother grew up in Maryland. Since every other book says her mother grew up in Iowa, this is most likely just a mistake or a placeholder.
- In Mary Anne's Book, her mother was making a quilt for her 25th birthday. She died either sometime prior to her birthday or the year before.
- Her wedding gown was home made as mentioned in Mary Anne's Book.
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