Mary Jo Mathies Lavigne

Mary Josephine McLaren was born to Charles Edward McLaren and Mary Francis Morgan McLaren on August 2, 1932, in Seattle WA. Her sister, Shirley, arrived two years later. Mary Jo and Shirley moved to Port Angeles with their mom and stepdad in 1944. She graduated from Port Angeles High School in 1950 and moved to Olympia WA to attend the nursing school program at Providence St. Peter Hospital. Nursing would be at her core throughout life.

It was in Olympia that she met and married Don Mathies in 1952. The young family of five, moved to Port Townsend in 1960 and Mary Jo worked at St. John’s hospital. In 1964, the family returned to Olympia. After two years of working in a physician’s office, Mary Jo accepted a position with the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries as an x-ray clerk. She held a variety of jobs with LNI until she retired after 30 years of service. She and Don enjoyed lifelong friendships and connections that started in the old eastside Olympia neighborhood and Saint Michael Parish. L&I colleagues and friends greeted her as Mary Jo. Family called her Joey.

An actor and painter, Mary Jo took pride in her pursuit of the arts. She first appeared in local theater productions in Port Townsend. This continued in Olympia and Mary Jo balanced work, family, and acting in productions with The Abbey Players and Olympia Little Theater. She would always reflect fondly on her role as Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias. Don and Mary Jo built a modest vacation home in Ocean Shores, WA that they enjoyed for many years. Along with their time at the beach, she attended art classes and pursued her passion for watercolor painting. The Pacific coast was a frequent subject of her detailed paintings.

Don passed away in 2001. Mary Jo stayed in Olympia, and soon made ballroom dancing with a group of neighbors and friends a central part of life. And common to the activities of her youth, Mary Jo met Bill LaVigne at a dance. They married in 2006. She and Bill honeymooned in Ireland and spent their golden years together traveling, playing golf, and dancing. Mary Jo painting watercolor scenes of the places they visited. The California sunsets looked amazing.

Mary Jo was preceded in death by both parents, sister, Shirley McLaren Strawick Walker, and first husband, Don Mathies. She is survived by husband, Bill LaVigne, sons Don Mathies and Steve Mathies (Isabel), daughter Cathy Mah (Doug), grandchildren Bethany Suhn, Stephanie Beyea, Kyle Mathies, Heather Mah, and six great grandchildren who know her as “GG”.