Mary Helen Morris Thiele

Mary was born and raised in Bothell, Washington and attended college in Ellensburg, Washington, where she met and married her husband, James “Jim” Thiele in 1949. Mary and Jim ultimately settled in Everett, Washington with their son and daughter, where Mary worked until her retirement as the audiovisual aids specialist at Cascade High School. She was also a tireless volunteer and the financial secretary at the Methodist church she and Jim helped build. Following Jim’s death in 1991, Mary relocated to New York’s Capital Region in 2006 to be near her daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren.

Mary was an avid national and international traveler. She drove across the USA several times with Jim and other family members; enjoyed cruises along the Rhine, down the Columbia River, and up to Alaska; and made extended visits with Jim and her sisters to Europe and Canada. Mary professed to be incapable of entertaining large groups, but she thought nothing of having 25 family members over for dinner, and her cookies are a family legend.

Mary was predeceased by her son, Mark; her husband of 42 years, Jim; and her two older sisters, Jo and Martha. Mary is survived by her daughter, Leslie Thiele (Ken Larsen); two grandchildren, James and Gabriela Larsen Thiele, and a great grandson, Riley, all of Schenectady, New York, and by her brother, Bill Morris (Nobi), and her sister, Edith Daniels, of Wenatchee, Washington. Mary is mourned as well by her nieces and nephews, their spouses and children, in Washington State, all of whom were a very important part of Mary’s life.

A memorial service for Mary will be held on July 14 at 4:00 pm.at Evergreen Funeral Home & Cemetery in Everett, Washington, following the burial in the family plot there at 3:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Planned Parenthood or to the Animal Protective Foundation, 53 Maple Avenue, Scotia, NY 12302.

Arrangements under the direction of Evergreen Funeral Home, Everett, WA.