Maria Carson-Breber passed away in her Piedmont home on September 19, 2025 at the age of 61 after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer.
Maria Erin Carson was born June 2, 1964 in Maryland to parents Tom and Mary. Soon after, the family moved to San Jose, CA where Maria grew up as the eldest sister to her three brothers and her cousin Judy. Maria attended Queen of Apostles School before graduating from Lynbrook High where she was a three-sport athlete and won a Junior Achievement national award for her business startup. After graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Economics, she worked at Intel and Lucasfilm before moving to the East Coast for graduate school in 1990.
Maria found her people and her passion at Harvard’s School of Education. The “Boston Girls” became her lifelong friends and a year of research with breast cancer patients at the Medical School led to her love of bringing clarity to difficult decisions. During the summer of 1995 while working as a management consultant near Boston, she went to a co-worker’s surprise 30th birthday party and met Pierre, up from Houston and boldly wearing a cowboy hat.
It was love at first sight and, after a few months traveling to see each other, Maria and Pierre were soon living together in Houston, engaged in Paris, and married in San Francisco. A year later, Maria and Pierre moved to Berkeley, CA and started a family with the births of Emma and Carson. In 2003, the family moved to Aberdeen, Scotland and returned two years later with Maria pregnant with Ben and a new home in Piedmont. In 2011, the family was again on the move to Bangkok, Thailand before returning in 2014 and settling in Piedmont.
With three young children and multiple moves, Maria’s professional life took a back seat to raising a family. Yet Maria found time for part-time consulting work to companies, Piedmont’s School District and Planning and Recreation Departments, and individuals through her business Decide LLC. Maria’s proprietary decision-making process and her unique listening and facilitation skills helped hundreds get unstuck and move forward with a decision.
Her greatest satisfaction came from helping many high school seniors decide where to go to college, usually after weeks of anxiety and within days of the deadline. After a few hours with Maria and often through tears, the seniors would emerge with conviction about their future plans and a hug to show their deep appreciation for Maria’s special talent. A lifelong exerciser, Maria made close friends on her Masters swimming teams and in her spin classes, and she became a devoted user of Peloton. But many will remember Maria for her brutal pace on walks along the beach and up and down the hills of Piedmont in a big floppy sun hat.
Friends remember Maria as thoughtful and insightful, gracious and kind, interesting and interested, warm and empathetic, welcoming and caring, trustworthy and generous, curious and compassionate. She was a bright light who greeted you with a smile, a positive force who made everyone feel special, and someone who could turn strangers into friends.
Family remembers Maria as all that and the most loving and supportive wife and mother, daughter and sister, aunt and cousin. She was the best mother to her children: unconditionally patient, caring and encouraging. Maria is survived by her husband Pierre, children Emma, Carson and Ben, parents Tom and Mary, brothers Tom, Chris and Tim, sister/cousin Judy, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at the Piedmont Community Church. A reception will follow at the Piedmont Community Hall. Business casual attire suggested (no tie for men). The service will be recorded for out-of-towners — Maria would want families to stay together during Thanksgiving week!