Mary Ellen Letters

Mary Ellen Letters, 61, of Travelers Rest, South Carolina, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 14, 2024 at home in Falls Church, Virginia, surrounded by her family. Mary battled a tragically short diagnosis of advanced metastatic urothelial cancer.

Mary was born in Livonia, Michigan to Charles and Ellen Philips on September 29, 1962. Mary grew up in the Detroit area, where she met her husband, Michael, in 1983. Mary and Michael were married in Detroit, Michigan, in May of 1986. Together, they raised their two daughters in Michigan, and celebrated over 37 beautiful years of marriage.

Mary received her bachelor’s degree while working full-time for Hewlett-Packard, and later completed her master’s degree part-time, while working and raising her family. Mary was a driven leader and fearless mentor. Before moving to South Carolina, Mary was the Regional Director of Marketing for a large, Michigan-based hospital system, where she oversaw a complex team and impacted countless individuals professionally.

Mary is survived by her husband, Michael, her children Ellen Combs (Brandon), and Rachel Letters-Knight (Keegan), and her two grandchildren, Evelynn (3) and Brooks (2).

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland provided Mary with extraordinary care. Dr. Jean Hoffman-Censits and her team treated her like family.

If you would like to make a gift in memory of Mary, the family is asking to have gifts sent to Dr. Hoffman’s cancer research so families continue to have hope with this awful disease.

Check to: Johns Hopkins University

Memo Line: To support the urothelia cancer research of Dr. Jeannie Hoffman-Censits in memory of Mary Letters

Mail to: Keyona Eppes

Kimmel Cancer Center

750 East Pratt Street, 17th Floor

Baltimore, MD 21202

The family will be hosting a celebration of life in Michigan and South Carolina in the coming months, so they can honor Mary with warmer weather.

Although Mary’s life was not long enough, Mary lived each day full of life, love, and joy. Mary faced several hardships throughout her lifetime, especially as a young adult. While these experiences would harden most, Mary turned it into strength. After losing her own mother to cancer at 19 years old, Mary’s only true goal in life was to have a family filled with love, and it brings her husband and children peace to know Mary was loved deeply by her family, friends, and community.

When Mary made the decision to move forward with hospice care, dozens of friends and family members immediately traveled to say goodbye, and an overwhelming amount of friends shared letters for her family to read to her in her final days.

Mary was loved deeply by her family and friends. They know she is in heaven sipping on Pepsi One, taking Ozzie for a walk, listening to Cat Stevens, and lighting a eucalyptus spearmint candle. The family asks that her friends send a thank you note to remind someone important in their life that they love them. Mary wrote incredible thank you notes, sent thoughtful cards, and gave the best gifts, so the family asks we honor Mary’s legacy through kind gestures. Mary, you will be deeply missed and forever loved.

“Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody” -Brad Montague