Mary Jean Howland

A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held at Bateman Carroll Funeral Home, Timberline Room, 520 W Powell Blvd, Gresham, Oregon 97030, on August 21, 2026, beginning at 12:30 pm.

Mary Jean Taylor Howland lived a life marked by both profound joy and profound sorrow. Rather than allowing tragedy to harden her heart, it deepened her faith in the Lord and strengthened her capacity to love those around her.

When life's conditions became unpredictable, she continued to build family, friendships, and community. She understood that stability is not found in perfect circumstances, but in choosing love, grace, laughter, and hope even when life asked her to grieve.

She taught responsibility not through lectures, but through trust. A single key placed into the hand of a young boy became an invitation to grow into a man who understood that responsibility is something to inhabit, not merely carry.

Mary expressed her love through the work of her hands. Her quilts and paintings were more than beautiful creations—they were gifts of herself. They stitched together warmth, faith, family, and memory in ways that words alone never could. Long after her hands have come to rest, her artistry will continue to comfort, inspire, and remind future generations that beauty is one expression of love.

She also loved the simple gift of being together. Around the kitchen table, family gathered for hours playing games, laughing, telling stories, and creating memories that are still shared today and will continue to be told for generations.

She had a lifelong love of horses. One treasured family memory came when she was 81 years old and joined her grandchildren and nieces—whom she loved as daughters—for a horseback ride in Sunriver, Oregon. It was a joyful reminder that wonder and adventure never left her heart.

Her sense of joy was wonderfully uncomplicated. When a very young granddaughter once asked if she could have ice cream for breakfast, Mary smiled and replied, “It’s okay to eat ice cream for breakfast when you’re on vacation.” She loved her ice cream, but even more, she loved giving others permission to delight in life's small pleasures.

Mary believed that love was something you made visible. Sometimes it became a quilt that warmed a family through winter. Sometimes it became a painting that brightened a room. Sometimes it was an afternoon around the kitchen table, laughing over games. Sometimes it was a horseback ride shared across generations. And sometimes it was simply telling a little girl that ice cream for breakfast was perfectly acceptable when you're on vacation. In every case, love was something she gave away freely, leaving the world a little warmer than she found it.

Her legacy is not measured by the number of years she lived, but by the countless lives she gently touched. She showed us that faith can grow stronger through adversity, that love can endure unimaginable loss, and that an authentic life—lived with quiet grace—is one of the greatest gifts we can leave behind.