Mary DeBoo

Mary DeBoo

Mary DeBoo of Brier, Washington passed away peacefully of natural causes at 12:15 PM on Saturday afternoon the 3rd of October at St. Joseph Residence adjacent to Providence Mount St. Vincent in Seattle, Washington.  Mary was one day shy of 91.

Mary was the widow of Carman Stuart DeBoo and the second of six children born of Ernest Wilson Weatherill and Anna Teresa (Metrician) Weatherill.

Mary was born in Tacoma, WA and had many great childhood memories living in Oyster Bay, WA.  As a young child her family moved to and lived several years in Fairbanks, Juneau, and Anchorage Alaska as there was work there for her father.  While in Alaska her father died when Mary was only 9 years old and while Mary’s mother Anne was pregnant with her sixth and last child.  This unfortunate situation would be repeated in Mary’s own married life later.  The hardships were many in Alaska but with the support of the catholic nuns and community the family got by for several more years staying in Alaska while Mary attended high school.  Her mother moved the family moved back to Washington in the late 1940’s where Mary soon met and married her red headed, blue-eyed, curly eye-lashed, husband Carman DeBoo, born on St. Patrick’s Day.  They wasted no time starting a family.

Carman was a skilled craftsman and carpenter and together he and Mary built the family home in Brier, Washington where they raised their three children, John, Maureen, and Vernon.  This home became a frequent family gathering place for Mary’s siblings and a multitude of nieces and nephews that lived in the area.  Besides spending time with family and neighbors, Mary and Carman loved the outdoors and camping was a common family activity with trips to places such as Baker Lake and Neah Bay, which typically included fishing in the family boat.

Tragedy struck the family when Carman became ill in 1970 and died of cancer in 1971 and Mary’s mother passed not long after in 1972.  Mary’s eldest son John had previously joined the Navy in 1968, relocated to New Mexico, married, and started a family of his own.  John returned to Washington to help the family during his father’s final days but had to return to his own family in New Mexico.  Without her husband Carman and both parents now deceased, Mary became a single parent raising her 11 and 6-year-old children largely on her own with some assistance from other family especially her sister Monica who lived a mile up the road in Brier.

Mary never remarried as she never wanted her children to have a stepfather that could possibly not treat her children the way she felt they should be treated. Her children became her life and she always made sure they had what they needed.  With only a small carpenter’s pension from Carman and a little social security the family had limited resources.  However, Mary had a family to raise and support but could not take the time to get the schooling needed for a new career.  Instead she did what she naturally did well that would allow her to both work and stay at home to finish raising her kids, that being, she opened a day-care business in her family home making all necessary adjustments to the house to meet state safety requirements.  For years her daycare was the primary financial source for the DeBoo family in Brier.

Mary’s daycare work was ideal for her strengths as a person who cares for those around her.  She read to her daycare kids, her own kids, her grandkids and always had a big caring heart.  Mary never had to advertise for new daycare kids as the parents all loved Mary very much and what she did caring for their children.  Her reputation quickly became all the advertisement needed.

Mary was a friendly, social, confident person who socialized not only with family and the church community but with many neighbors in Brier.  While her husband Carman had been a terribly shy person, Mary was quite the opposite and friends abounded in the neighborhood.

Mary was proud that she was able to provide for Maureen and Vernon who never went without. This gave them opportunities that she did not have growing up.  Even though Mary had become a single mom, she was a strong parent as evidenced by both Maureen and Vernon (like John) doing well in all their school activities and going on to raise stable families of their own.  Mary was fiercely loyal and protective of all her children and their love for her was equally as strong.

Throughout her life Mary was an expert seamstress making many, if not most, of the clothes for her children including pretty little-girl dresses for Maureen, multitudes of bibs, blankets and quilts, a tuxedo for Vernon’s high school dance, and Maureen’s wedding dress.  Her nieces, nephews, and the church also benefitted from her skills with many special outfits and gifts coming from Mary’s skilled hands and creative mind.  There was nothing Mary couldn’t make with a sewing machine.

Mary was a devout Catholic and raised her children as such attending at St Brendan in Bothell, WA.  She was active in various church groups and activities including a group called “The Diaper Bag Project” dedicated to providing needed baby clothes and items for expectant mothers where again her seamstress skills were in high demand.  Even though Mary had limited financial resources she gave to her church each week and donated regularly to her favorite charity “Food For The Poor”.

Later in life, with all her children well established with their own families Mary continued to live in the house in Brier and loved hosting holiday meals, reunions and other gatherings with various family which now included a number of grandchildren.  Her son Vernon built his family home on the back lot of Mary’s Brier property to be close by.  Together with his sister Maureen, the two assisted their aging mother in all ways for years.  This assistance included significant modifications to the house as needed to accommodate Mary’s reduced mobility.  Eventually they also added in-home professional care.  Their efforts allowed Mary to remain in her Brier home until the age of 88.

Eventually Mary lost all mobility (except for her super-duper powered wheelchair) and needed more assistance.  She was blessed to be admitted to Providence Mount St. Vincent in West Seattle for her care.  A few months after arriving she was moved (upgraded) to a private room in the adjacent St. Joseph Residence (SJR) where many retired catholic nuns resided.  As a devout catholic, the move to SJR was a gift for which she and her family felt very blessed as openings were rare.  Maureen often joked that her placement here elevated Mary’s level of holiness.

Mary made many friends at SJR and the nursing home provided a variety of activities and entertainment to keep Mary active.  Mary was an avid reader and she had access to a library at SJR.  With her super-duper powered wheel chair she would make regular trips down two floors, over to the other building, up 4 floors to get 10-12 books and take them back to SJR and read them all in 2-3 days and then do it all over again.

In early 2019 Mary’s sister Monica, who had lived so close to Mary in Brier most of their adult lives, joined Mary on the third floor of St. Joseph Residence for the final six months of her battle with breast cancer.  For the two to be together during this time was another blessing for both of them, though, being sisters, they were also happy to be 15 doors down the hall from each other versus right next door.

For the next 14 months Mary continued to be loved and cared for by the staff at SJR and the many friends amongst the residents until her final passing.  While she had some discomfort in her final weeks and her family had been unable to visit in person for several months due to Covid-19, the final blessing was her peaceful passing with the Chaplin “coincidentally” in the room at the right time.

Mary is survived by her sister AnnFrancis Weatherill, brother Ernest Wilson Weatherill, children John Stuart DeBoo (spouse Geraldine), Maureen Cheryl DeBoo-Cahoon (spouse Ian Cahoon), Vernon Eugene DeBoo (spouse Viola), grandchildren Shawn Evan DeBoo, Kris Anthony DeBoo, Jonathan Paul DeBoo, Cameron Mitchell Cahoon, Ariana Belem DeBoo, Mackenzie Robert Cahoon, great grandchildren Emily Breanna DeBoo, Jalea Nicole DeBoo, Nicholas Anthony DeBoo, Taylor Evan DeBoo, Aiden Shawn DeBoo, Consuelo Douglas Carlson-DeBoo and a multitude of nephews and nieces. She was preceded in death by three siblings Monica Somers, Robert Demetrius Weatherill, and Thomas Joseph Weatherill.

A limited size Catholic funeral mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday October 16th, 2020 at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Bothell, Washington and streamed live on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/stbrendancatholicbothell.

The Rite of Committal to be celebrated privately at Holyrood Cemetery in Shoreline, Washington.

The family wishes memorial contributions be made to Food For The Poor.