Mary Lee Camperson Hadley

Mary Lee Sailor/Camperson Hadley was born on November 2, 1914 to Roger W. and Myrtle Cotrell Sailor in Kansas City, Missouri. She lived for 97 wonderful years, passing away on August 24, 2012 in Puyallup, Washington. She was the beloved mother of Janet Fabling (Keith) and Nancy-Farnam, grandmother of Laura Wyckoff (Tim), Dean Chilton, Beth Chilton, and Christine Baerwaldt (Chad). She leaves behind great-grandsons Van and Adam Wyckoff and nephew Kevin Sailor (Linda).

In 1917, her family moved to Hinsdale, Montana to homestead and she had many wonderful childhood memories from that time with brothers Roger, Kenneth, and Max. When a drought made ranching impossible in 1925, the family moved to Seattle. Central Grade School and West Seattle High School were not the same after Mary Lee arrived. She attended 78 annual West Seattle reunions! After high school, she put herself through Metropolitan Business College working in the cafeteria at Seattle General Hospital. During the war she was the office manager for an orthopedic surgeon. She joked it was her patriotic duty to attend dances at the USO. As World War II was winding down, a friend introduced Mary Lee to a dashing lawyer with a droll sense of humor, Bart Camperson, who had just returned from the Pacific. They were married on Valentine's Day, 1945 and enjoyed 35 years together before Bart passed away in 1980. After raising their family in Magnolia, they retired to Richmond Beach in 1978. At the 1980 West Seattle reunion, she reconnected with a classmate, Bill Hadley, who played clarinet in The Blue Knights dance band in high school. She and Bill were married in 1981 and had ten years full of fun, travel and music before he passed away. She filled in on piano with Bill's last band, Men of Note.

Mary Lee was an amazing woman. She marveled at the many facets of her own life. Before the girls were old enough to start school, she canned most of the fruits and vegetables her family ate and sewed the clothes they wore (even sport coats for Bart!). She loved costume parties and entertaining. She was a volunteer chairman for United Good Neighbors of South King County, active in her church's Sunday school and women's groups, a tireless volunteer for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, secretary for the Northwest Urological Society, developer of a senior support program at the Shoreline Senior Center, and the biggest Husky football fan. She and Bart had season tickets since 1945 and, more than once, woke the girls up for a late night drive to the airport to welcome the team home from away games. Their tailgate parties were legend.

She moved to Puyallup in 2007 to be near Janet, Keith and her grandchildren. At Willow Gardens, the Courtyard, and Clare Bridge she made wonderful friends. Mary Lee loved life and didn't waste a minute of it. She was the consummate caretaker, thoughtful and kind to all. It was a privilege to have shared her life. There are so many happy memories.