Before her son carried out the shocking attack at a Catholic school, Mary Grace Westman, 67, lived a very different kind of public life. She once appeared in a film about reuniting with a daughter she had given up for adoption as a child.
The film, titled Mary Meet Grace, was released in 2021. It was written and directed by Los Angeles filmmaker Faryl Amadeus, 44, who is Mary Grace’s biological daughter. The movie told a fictional version of their reunion but was inspired by their real story. It went on to be screened at film festivals across the country and even picked up awards.
Years before the film, Mary Grace had become a devout Catholic and outspoken anti-abortion activist. She was known for protesting outside Planned Parenthood clinics, once holding a crucifix in her hand as a symbol of her faith.
She also had deep ties to the Catholic community in Minneapolis. For years, she worked as a secretary at the Annunciation Catholic School and Church, the very place where her son would later open fire. She retired in 2021, leaving behind colleagues who remembered her devotion to the church.
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Police say she has refused to cooperate as they search for answers about her son Robin Westman, who killed 2 children and injured 18 others at Annunciation Catholic School.
Law enforcement sources confirmed that Mary Grace boarded a flight to Minnesota within hours of the shooting. Her Florida home in Naples was later searched by federal agents. Reports say she has hired a defense attorney and has avoided direct cooperation with investigators.
Amadeus, her daughter, has spoken openly about her childhood and the meaning of reconnecting with her birth mother. She was adopted as a baby after spending a short time in foster care.
“I was in foster care for a month before I was adopted, and that family sent me a card every birthday,” Amadeus said in 2021. “It meant so much to me to know I wasn’t just, like, in a basket somewhere.”
On her personal website, she described her adoption in blunt terms, writing that she was “shipped from Kentucky, like a box of whiskey” to New York.
Despite the painful past, she and Mary Grace formed a close bond after their reunion. The movie they created together was meant to highlight that journey.
Featured image via X screengrab
