 Mary was my dear loyal friend
 everyone that knew Mary loved her. she was so positive and would bring out the best of you, every time we would see each other we never ran out of things to say, we talked for hours, I couldn't wait to see her smiley face and hear all the nice things she had to tell me  most of it was about her precious grandchildren     o if they only knew how much she loved them all!  she was so proud of them! and she would tell me about her mom  what a good mom she was! she raised her with so much love and she was all ways concerned because they were far away from each other and who would take care of her mom if she would get sick, and Danny! there is not enough words to describe how much love they had for each other! Danny was her rock! he was all ways by her side till her last breath! he loved her children and grandchildren  like they was his own! I am heart broking and having a hard time with loosing her, may she rest in peace in heaven without any pain now, my condolences to the family          this is not the final good buy my friend  we will meet again  my love to you all ways        Irene.

Thinking of you tonight. 
I'll love you always <3

Mary was my best friend, my wife. 
When we first met, I knew she was the one for me. Mary and I met at a discotheque night club in 1979; I was in the Navy at the time. I was looking out at the people on the dance floor, when all of a sudden this pretty girl came and stood next to me. She had this smile that made her stand out from the crowd. We struck up a conversation about the old guy (about 40 years old), who was trying to help his two sons pick up a couple girls from the dance floor. Next thing I knew we had talked and danced the night away - we closed the club that night. 
That night started our life together. 

Mary had a hobby of spending money like it was going out of style. When I asked about what she had bought that day, she'd just say "Don't worry about it, I saved you money!". 
Mary loved the holidays. She was the heart and soul of this family and loved seeing everyone get together and having fun. She really was the one who kept this family together through good and bad times. 

Mary will be greatly missed but never forgotten. 

I love you and I miss you. We will be together again.

"I'm so proud of you" - this phrase was said to me by my grandma more than by anyone else in my life. Those words are hard to come by in my family. You know, it wasn't just the words; it was the actions behind them. Grandma showed me how proud of me she was - and it wasn't conditional, it was constant. My grandma would take me to meet someone she knew and as soon as she said "this is Alanna, my granddaughter", it's like they already knew my life story. We just had Christmas and I remember asking her each year what she wanted for a gift. Her response was always the same - a shirt or sweatshirt from my school; first it was high school and then college. She had everything from freshman wrestling hoodies, to honor band t-shirts, to "CWU Grandma" zip-ups and shirts from every activity in between - and there were quite a few. Grandma would wear them out every year, and ask for a new one. People would always stop her to ask about whatever school she was wearing that day, and she never minded once because she wouldn't pass up a chance to meet someone new or a perfect opportunity to brag about her grand kids. 
"I'm so proud of you" - I can still hear these words in Grandma's voice so vividly. She was proud of me for the everyday things like being nice, holding my tongue, for doing my best, getting good grades, winning awards, and performing in a concert. Then came the bigger things, like graduating high school, moving away, supporting myself, keeping in touch, graduating from college and being the first in the family to earn my Bachelor degree. You know, it's easy to be proud of someone for those things, the good things. Grandma was also proud of me when I messed up, when I made mistakes, when I was hurtful and selfish. She was proud of me when I cried. She was proud of me when I couldn't be proud of myself. So when I couldn't be there for myself, she would - grandma would. 

When I think of my grandma and who she was - obviously the first thing that comes to mind is her bling. I actually wore some of her conservative bling here, today. More importantly, though, she was the woman who took in my two youngest siblings with almost no notice, when they didn't have anywhere else to go. She made them feel loved, cared for, and safe. She drove them 30+ minutes to school each day then picked them up each afternoon, just so they could stay close to their friends. She was the person I went to when I "ran away" from home; she'd listen to me vent, let me stay the night, then drive me home in the morning. Grandma was my go-to "Hey, I've got this great news", "This cool thing happened today", or "I need to process out loud and complain about my day for an hour - even though I'm sure watching paint dry is more interesting". Grandma always listened and genuinely cared. She was the kind of person who cared about everyone - she'd care about someone for no other reason than because I cared about them. I'll miss that. 

I'll miss our hair growing races, how she'd call me her "Beautiful Nana" when I sent her a "hello!" selfie or when we skyped. I'll miss uploading 200 photos from a recent trip or adventure and withing 5 minutes having 200 notifications with a "Like" on each photo - all from grandma. I'll miss her small prayer each time we got in the car to go somewhere and her slightly longer prayer if I was behind the wheel. I'll miss her telling me she's getting a perm or dying her hair to look like mine. I'll miss her willingness to start dancing when she gets an urge; no matter where she was or who was around. 

Most of all, I will miss her smile, our daily "I love you" texts, and the sound of her voice. 
In fact, I tried to find a voicemail of hers to listen to just so I could hear her voice. Unfortunately I got my new phone about 6 months before Grandma died, and I hadn't missed a single one of her calls. 
I know because of that, and for being here sharing today, my grandma would say, "I'm so proud of you". 

I love you Grandma.

OBITUARY

Maria Luisa Salas

20 October, 1953 – 28 November, 2016

Price-Helton Funeral Home

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