BOMBER MEMORIAL

MARY RUTH HALSTEAD BOWELL ~ Class of 1949
July 31, 1931 – May 31, 2015





Born July 31, 1931 in Waverly, Washington, to Floyd & Ethel DeLong Halstead. As a child, Mary lived on a farm in St. John, Washington. She died peacefully at home on May 31, 2015, surrounded by her family. She was 83 years young.

When Mary was a young girl, Mary's mother died. Her father put a newspaper ad that was seen by Ava (a single mother of 2 girls) living in Louisiana. The ad was looking for a Nanny for his six children in Walla Walla. Floyd sent her & her 2 girls train tickets and put them up in a motel. After a while, they fell in love and got married and eventually had Herschel.

Mary was the beloved mother of Raymond (Rita), Teresa Stout, Keith (Cassandra), Donald, Edward, and Kerry. Devoted grandmother of Wolfgang, Michaela, Angelika, Christopher, Erik, Danny, Sarah, Chad, Edward, Jr., Christopher, Jacob, Makayla, and Matthew. Wonderful Great-Grandmother of Joseph, Christian, and Arabella.

She is survived by Ethel Halstead Brown ('47), Donald Halstead ('52), Dorothy Halstead ('55), Carolyn Halstead Edgar ('61), Mina Halstead, Herschel Halstead ('66) and many nieces and nephews.

She started her banking career at Seafirst bank in Richland. In 1959, She moved to Seattle where she continued to work for Seafirst. In 1962, she put her career on hold to raise her family. She finished her working days at the Federal Reserve Bank. As a young adult, she played Semi-pro baseball which led to a life long love of the game. She enjoyed cheering on her favorite Seattle Sports Teams - the Seahawks, Storm, and Mariners. She loved to work in her garden tending her strawberries & flowers. She had a great love for family, friends and her beloved cats & dogs. One of her favorite things to do was bake cookies & cupcakes with great granddaughter, Arabella.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Humane Society.

There were viewings on June 18 and 19, 2015 and a memorial service was held on June 20, 2015. Reception followed.

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The staff of Bonney - Watson considers it a privilege to care for the Bowell family.