Mary Margaret McCarrell

Mary Margaret McCarrell was a vibrant, intellectual and colorful person. She began her sojourn on earth when born to parents Harold Eugene Haberle and Mary Clara Haberle (nee Crawford) in Yakima, Washington, on July 31, 1930. The first of two children, Mary was joined by brother John in 1933.

The family lived for a time in Yakima, moved to Aberdeen, and then finally settled in Seattle. With the exception of two brief periods in Edmonds and Mukilteo—and a wild year teaching down under as an international fellow in Australia—Mary was a dedicated resident of Seattle.

Mary attended Holy Names Academy in Seattle and then went on to undergraduate studies at the University of Washington, graduating in 1952 with bachelor’s degrees in biology and business education. She was a lifelong learner, so Mary continued to take university courses well into her 80s. From the plays of Ibsen to the mysteries of Russian literature to advanced studies in molecular biology and human genomics, everything was of interest to Mary’s keen and probing intellect. And, given her love of education, it is not surprising that Mary made a career of teaching secondary school for nearly 30 years.

In 1953, Mary married William J. Stites of Waukegan, Illinois. First child Shanon arrived in 1955, followed by Irene in 1957 and William Alan in 1961. A second marriage in 1969 to Ross Martin brought forth fourth child Jennifer Leigh in 1970.

Mary loved her children with a fierce, protective and indestructible tenacity. No matter the difficulty, no matter the struggle, Mary thought first of her children and always hoped the best for each of them. She was preceded in death by her son, William Alan Stites, in 1998.

Mary balanced career and motherhood during a time in history when the two were often considered mutually exclusive. She passed along her love of learning, going so far as to pack up the kids and driving them across country to Florida where she was going to study for the summer of 1969. A woman alone, with three young children, in a car with no air-conditioning, driving 3,000 miles. Colorful…and a bit crazy!

Mary loved travel and considered it an indispensable part of a person’s overall education. Little weekend road trips, to cross-country marathons, ocean cruises, jet vacations; all travel was a delight for Mary and her adventures were most often shared with those she loved.

The last few years of Mary’s life were complicated by the onset of Parkinson’s Disease, which severely limited her mobility and affected many parts of her life. She was able to remain in her home with assistive care from professionals at Husky Senior Care and the aid of a live-in daughter.

Mary McCarrell was much loved, and will be even much more missed by all who knew and loved her. We all take solace in the knowledge that, at last, this fine, free spirit is finally free.