Mary J. Ketchum, 88, a lifetime resident of Sedro-Woolley, passed away on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at the Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon.
Mary had a great will to live. She battled several different health issues in the past 2 years taking each one in stride and kept going. She was born on January 17, 1920 in Sedro-Woolley, Washington the daughter of Bernard and Jenny Callaghan Jackson.
Mary grew up in Sedro-Woolley where she attended school and where she later was united in marriage to Allen J. Ketchum on September 15, 1937.
While raising her family, she worked at home for Sondales making ‘dickies’ and then later worked for Rothenbuhler Engineering for over 20 years, retiring in 1982.
Mary was a charter member of the Sedro-Woolley High School Alumni Association, a member of the Gertrude Sawyer Hospital Guild, the Sedro-Woolley Senior Center where she also volunteered, Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, and a member of the 39’ers-classmates from SWHS class of 1939.
She enjoyed bowling and being a part of many bowling leagues, knitting, oil painting, and crossword puzzles.
Mary is survived by her 2 daughters, Joan Green and her husband Robert of Sedro-Woolley and Sharon Dennis and her husband Jerry of Big Lake. 7 grandchildren, Joni Parnell and her husband Marc, Tami Heidelberg, Pat Rodgers and his wife Kathy, Jim Green and his wife Linda, Kelly Green, Debra DiPasquale, and Eric Duvall and his wife Tiffany. 8 great- grandchildren, Lyndsay and Amanda Parnell, William and Sarah Green, Adam and Matthew DiPasquale, and Nathan and Gracie Duvall.
2 brothers, Michael Jackson of Sedro-Woolley and Charlie Jackson of Everett, and a sister, Bette Miller of St. Paul, MN. A sister-in-law, LaVerne Jackson of Sedro-Woolley and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Allan in 1967, a daughter, Mary Kay Rodgers, 2 brothers, Jim and Bernard Jackson and 2 sons-in-law, Kerry Duvall and Larry Rodgers.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, March 4, 2008 at 10:30AM at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Sedro-Woolley with Father Martin Bourke, Celebrant. A reception to follow at the church parish hall. Private Entombment will be at Hawthorne Memorial Park in Mount Vernon. Visitation will be Monday, February 3, 2008 from 9AM to 5PM and 7PM to 8PM at Lemley Chapel in Sedro-Woolley.
Memorials are suggested to Sedro-Woolley Alumni Association, PO Box 509 Sedro-Woolley, WA 98284, the Skagit Valley Kidney Center in Mount Vernon, or a charity of your choice.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the Doctor’s and Staff at Skagit Valley Hospital and Skagit Valley Kidney Center as well as their special appreciation to Dr. Komar.