Mary Sue Bunch

Mary Sue Bunch, 79, of Bothell, Washington passed away peacefully on January 18, 2026. Born June 29,1946 in Seattle, Washington to Hugh and Margaret McManus, Mary Sue was the eldest daughter of four children. She attended Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School, St. Matthew School and graduated from Blanchet High School and attended college at Seattle University and received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degrees in teaching from the University of Washington.

After graduating college, Mary Sue traveled all over Europe and met up with her brother John and his wife Sally. They had a wonderful time, and she enjoyed it so much that she decided to apply for an elementary teaching position for the US army in Europe. She was hired and was assigned to a base in Germany, coincidentally where her brother was stationed as well. After her time in Europe, she taught at St. Matthew School and then Blanchet High School where she taught English and French. During that time, she also met her husband, John, at a mutual friend’s pizza party and they married soon after and settled in Green Lake. Mary Sue accepted a job at Canyon Creek Elementary School and she and John decided to move to Bothell, Washington so she could be closer to work. Canyon Creek Elementary would become her teaching home. She taught first grade for over 30 years there and loved every minute of it. Over the years, former students would come back to visit her, and no matter how much time had passed, she would always recognize them and know them by name.

Known for her kindness, sweet demeanor and her love of dance, she was active in her community teaching dance classes from a young age, and you could often find her teaching a dance class in the basement of her family’s home. While attending college, she supported herself through teaching dance lessons at local studios and during high school, college and while she was teaching, she choreographed many musicals for both Blanchet High and Seattle University. In 1982, Mary Sue and her husband John adopted a baby girl from South Korea who they named Shannon. Mary Sue passed on her love of dance to Shannon and was her first dance teacher.

In 2011, her first grandson Tyler was born. Not long after that, her second grandson Austin came along, and she was an active Grandmother to them and one of their most favorite people in the world, calling her Grandma Sue. After retiring, she often could be found practicing yoga, drinking a nice hot cup of tea and spending time with her grandsons.

She is survived by her husband John Bunch, her daughter Shannon Saarinen, son-in-law Robbie Saarinen and her two grandsons, Tyler and Austin Saarinen as well as her older brother John McManus (his wife Sally), youngest sister Bridget McManus and her nephews and nieces Sean McManus (his wife Dian and daughters Keira and Fiona), Colleen Harpold (her husband Ben and son Statler), Brian Weiser (his son Zeke), Keeva McManus, Kellen O’Neill, brother-in-law Hugh O’Neill and sister-in-law Kathleen Weiser. Preceded in death by her younger sister Anne Jane McManus. A Memorial Service will be held at Life Celebrations by Washelli in Bothell, Washington on Wednesday, 1/28/2026 at 11am.