Mary Ellen Lauridsen

Mary Ellen Lauridsen, 88, of Deer Park, Texas, passed away November 10, 2018. She was born in Aurelius, Michigan on February 25, 1930. Her family owned a dairy farm where she learned to milk cows, help with the vegetable garden and helped in the care of her Grandma. She also played piano, crocheted, and learned to cook. Mary Ellen attended Hastings High School but would need to drop out as her mom had become very ill and she would need to care for her.

In 1946, she began working at Bill's restaurant in Alma, Michigan where she would meet a young college man, Lorenzo Salazar, who was very taken by her and shortly thereafter asked for her hand in marriage. She was married to Lorenzo Salazar on April 12, 1947 and gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Mary Ann, in September. Their second child , a son, Michael, was born in July 1952 and their youngest son, Neil, born in July 1954. In 1960, they would move from Michigan to Irving, Texas for her husband, Lorenzo, to continue his engineering career and Mary Ellen to start her career in book binding for Taylor Publishing Company in Dallas.

She married her second husband, Laurid Lauridsen, on September 19, 1980. His job would take him to many different places overseas, including Spain, where Mary Ellen would move to and immerse herself in the culture. She loved it there. She had a passion for traveling, meeting new people, fishing, reading, the beach and watching sports, but, her most favorite thing to do was being Grandma. She loved her grandchildren with all she had. There's nothing she wouldn't do for them, us, which included many nights and days of penny-ante poker, which was, by the way, forbidden by Dad and Mom. Many nights were spent just hanging with Grandma sitting on the top of her truck, popcorn in hand, to catch the latest drive-in movie playing across the street. It was silent, but that was ok, we made up our own lines. We also went crabbing every time we got a chance, oh how Grandma loved it, well except getting pinched by the crab and having to waste her beer to stop the bleeding. There was also that time we took off to the Baytown bridge, the one off 99, got stuck in the mud and knew we wouldn't make it home by midnight, not to mention we were supposed to be in La Porte. So we knew Dad was going to kill us. So we decided to call Grandma instead, and of course, she came with the tow-truck following behind her. So many more stories.... thanks Grandma for loving us so very much and always being there no matter what. WE MISS YOU, WE LOVE YOU, AND WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN!!

Mary Ellen was preceded in death by her parents, Delbert and Wealthy Holley, first husband Lorenzo Salazar, sister, Wilma Lopez and second husband Laurid Lauridsen.

She is survived by her children, Mary Ann Dorsey and husband Raymond; Michael Salazar and wife Sue; and Neil Salazar; sister, Delores Holliday; grandchildren, Ellen Bay and boyfriend Bryan Elliott, Denise and husband Lane Thompson, Dawn and husband Stormy Ross, Neil, Jr. and wife Jenelle Salazar, Jolene Salazar and husband Cameron Grousch, and Ashley Salazar; great-grandchildren, Kristen Bay, Brittany Thompson, Courtney Thompson, Ellie Jo, Gracie Mae, Saraina Salazar, Sabrina Salazar, Lori Salazar, Daniella Salazar, Lincoln, Tyler, Jeffery and Bardly.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, November 26, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at Grand View Funeral Home 8501 Spencer Hwy., Pasadena, Texas, 77505