Mary Beth Hustad

away on March 18, 2011, at the age of 41 in Lynnwood, Washington.

Mary Beth was born in Karlstad, Minnesota on August 12, 1969, at the time of her birth

being one of the lightest babies ever born in the State of Minnesota, weighing 1 pound 6

ounces and having her picture published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. She was

adopted by John and Sylvia Hustad at the age of 8 in Thief River Falls, Minnesota and

attended St. Hilaire Elementary and Franklin Middle School. Mary lived on the Hustad

family farm near St. Hilaire before moving with the family to Edmonds, Washington (a

suburb of Seattle) in the summer of 1982. She attended College Place Middle School and

Edmonds High School in Edmonds, Washington. Mary was active in swimming (AAU)

while in Thief River Falls and later during high school was a member of the track and

cross country teams. Mary was a very bright and articulate person. While in high school,

Mary received awards for her writing, at one point writing a rebuttal to an article in the

Edmonds Paper about a group of kids that had visited the Berlin Wall. Her rebuttal was

published by the newspaper. The problem was, the writer of the article she had rebutted

would eventually be her English teacher in her senior year of high school (tension?!).

Mary liked to sing and was active in choir, singing both at school and in church. She

attended and was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church in Thief River Falls and was later

confirmed at St. Peter By the Sea Lutheran Church in Edmonds, Washington. She

graduated from Edmonds High School in 1988 and attended Pacific Lutheran University.

Mary later became a certified nursing assistant (CNA) following high school, an

achievement she was very proud of, and worked for a number of years in nursing homes

in the Edmonds and Lynnwood, Washington areas. She enjoyed spending time with her

friends and family when she could and was an avid reader. As a result of her interest in

reading early in life, she was full of interesting facts and a good conversationalist. She also

had a fun sense of humor and loved to laugh. She especially enjoyed spending time with

her niece and several nephews, as they would bring out the playful side in her. Mary was

also a very generous and giving person, often giving of her own resources to those less

fortunate than her, putting their needs before her own. Mary is survived by her loving

parents, John and Sylvia Hustad (Edmonds, WA); a sister, Jennifer O’Donnell

(Sammamish, WA); brothers, Bill Hustad (Everett, WA), and Jim Hustad (Thief River

Falls, MN); a niece; and several nephews and other relatives. She is also survived by her

godparents, Kim and Doug Williams of Bemidji, Minnesota. Mary was preceded in death

by her paternal grandparents and maternal grandfather. Mary’s absence is deeply felt by

her family, but they are comforted in the knowledge she is now safe and at peace at home

with her Lord and Savior. May her memory be blessed.